Lost Love, Found Love
by Epsil0nCha0s
Summary: Ash has left Hoenn for Sinnoh, bringing nothing but his pokemon, not including Pikachu! Max, Brock and May are alone in Hoenn without Ash, but Ash meets Dawn and forgets them! Contains advanceshipping, ends pearlshipping.
1. The Ship Awaits

**Fear the Women's wrath**

I got in a fight with my best friend the other day, and I was so frustrated, so angry with her... I just exploded. I regret what I did because now it won't get out of my mind. But there's another reason...I love her.

_(Flashback)_

_"Ash, can we please stop now?" the brunette behind me asked. We'd only been walking three hours and she was already tired, I was full of energy to find a new region to explore, and she was anxious for her next contests. We just finished with the Kanto Battle Frontier and Contests, now we were heading from Terricota town to the next for some shopping._

_"May, the next town is only a mile away. And I thought you were psyched for your contest?" I replied back to her._

_"I am! I can't wait to show Drew how much I've grown!" She yelled back, which made me stutter._

_I couldn't bare hearing that name...Drew. He was an arrogant jerk to May, and always teased her about how great he was. And even when he crushed her spirit after a battle or a comment, he still has the nerve to move in on her! He gives her roses. He kills her spirit, then gives her a rose and his phone number! He's an ass!_

_"Don't worry about him, you'll be fine." I snapped back at her._

_"What does that mean?" She asked back, I turned around and saw her with her hands on her hips with an angry and confused expression on her face._

_"I'm saying... he's weak and you'll beat him, no doubt. Just believe on yourself." I told her._

_"I know. But what was with the snappy attitude?" She snapped right back._

_"I'm just saying. You kept whining about how he's so rude, so mean, so arrogant, if you hate him that much why do you keep bringing him up?" I asked._

_"Ash, trust me. You do not want to get in a-!" Max tried to warn me, but he was cut off._

_"Quiet Max!" May nearly screamed at him._

_At that moment, I saw his face. I'd never seen Max so scared, so terrified of anything. I wish he'd warned me ahead of time, maybe when we first met and he was telling me about himself and May._

_"I'm waiting for an answer." May snapped while impatiently tapping her foot, with her hands on her hips._

_"I'm just saying, do you like him or what?" I told her... but I wish I hadn't._

_"What? You think I like Drew? Ash Ketchum! Don't speak to a woman about who she likes! That's for her to know, and the guy to never find out!" She yelled at me._

_"Okay okay! Let's get going, we're really close to town now, right Max?" I asked out loud._

_I turned back to see Max was shaking his head and pointing at May, like he was trying to warn me about her. Now I realize why he was doing that, but I was clueless at that moment._

_"Ash Ketchum, do you want to know why not to talk to girls about love?" She asked me._

_I stared at Max, who was now waving his hands like crazy and cutting his neck, and shaking his head. I still can't believe I didn't get the message._

_"Why?" I asked plainly._

_Max smacked his forehead and grabbed Pikachu off my shoulder, then ran into the forest pulling Brock's ear, leaving me and May alone._

_"You don't do that because women like to keep men guessing. They flirt with women, while men just walk up to them in a bar, and force them to...I'm not going there. Men like women for bodies, tools, amusement! Women like the guys who have personalities. Men who don't just use women for their own thrills, and someone who wants to take it slow and actually enjoy it!" She explained to me._

_She was very explanatory on one subject, but I wasn't sure because I didn't really understand it, so I just stood there and nodded. Then I saw her mouth stop moving so I stopped nodding. She looked at me with her toe tapping once again, then walked closer to me. I was confused at what she was doing, but then the worst happened._

_When she was right in front of me, she put her hands on my shoulders. She looked me right in the eyes with those sparkling sapphire eyes. And said something that now haunts me for my entire life._

_"Well?"_

_I was confused. I hadn't been paying attention to what she said, and now she wanted me to answer something. I couldn't just nod, because what if it was a bad question? I tried with all my might to put a confused expression on, but for the first time in my life...I couldn't._

_"Answer me."_

_I looked back down to see her, still staring and tapping. I was too scared to say anything. My legs felt like jello, I felt like I was going to die right there. Until the words I was trying my hardest to push to the back of my head accidently slipped out._

_"...yes."_

_I was doomed. I had let the word out. I felt like I could collapse to dust and get blown away by the wind, but I had to face her. I wish I spent more time with Max, to learn of what I would face in the near future. I was right about the near future part, but she stood there with her mouth open. She took her hands off my shoulders and pushed me away. I was confused so I stepped forward, but she slapped me hard across the face. I could see her eyes weld up with tears, I was afraid of what I'd just said because...well...I didn't know._

_She stared at me with that mad and teared-up face, making me release a few tears. I don't know why, but my ducts decided it was the right moment. She turned around and walked away from me, towards where Max and Brock went._

_"I can't believe you." She said, still not facing me._

_She turned her head around and looked at the ground._

_"You said yes to the question a woman would never want to hear that from her man. How Ash? How can you say that with no expression?" She was now bursting out crying, so I decided to try to comfort her._

_The most important word there was "try". She pushed me away again, but never looked up. Her hands were now fists, balled so tight I could see the veins nearly bursting through her wrists._

_"Drew would never say that. I'm glad he gave me his number."_

_That one nearly killed me. I nearly fainted on the spot, realizing what she had just said. I luckily found a nearby tree stump to fall on. When she looked up, I was sitting with a horrified face._

_"Typical men. Always quitting after hearing about another. Ash, I want you to go." She said._

_I looked up, and she was no longer crying. But she was still angry as I confused._

_"Drew is nice, he tells me where I go wrong, he gives me roses. Ash, he's more than you can ever be. So why don't you go?" She boldly said._

_I couldn't believe what I was hearing! She said it with no stuttering or hesitation, she really wanted me to leave! So I got up, and walked back to Max and Brock. When I got there, Max was explaining something about May, while a Brock was begging him to stop speaking of such "harsh things". They heard me and looked, then Max ran over to me and hugged me._

_"I'm so glad! You're alive! Not many people get out!" He yelled as he was nearly crying in my stomach. I just pulled myself out of his grasp, and picked up Pikachu. Then I turned around and began walking again._

_"Ash, where are you going?" I heard Max whimper out._

_"...I'm going to Sinnoh."_

_"What? Ash! What about us?" Max was now beginning to cry._

_"I've come to my senses, and this isn't the place for me. Now, the ferry in the next town leaves at four o'clock, so I'm heading there now." I told them, and walked into the forest._

_Then I heard May get back. and Max began crying. She comforted him, and said it was for the better._

_I felt like I'd been stabbed in the heart. Hearing her say those words, so calm and unemotionally...it just ripped my insides to shreds._

_"Pikachu, we're almost there."_

_I was talking to him as we were just got out of the forest, and I could see the port in the distance. I began running, but Pikachu stopped me with a thunderbolt._

_"Pikachu! What was that for?" I yelled at my pokemon._

_Pikachu just looked at the ground, and I could see some tears go down the pokemon's cheeks. I rubbed his head, trying to comfort him, but he shocked me again. He jumped off my shoulder and began running back to Brock, Max and May._

_"Pikachu? FINE! Go! I don't need you!" I yelled._

_But the mouse didn't stop. I was as sad, mad, and amazed as you could ever get all at once! My best friend left me, to be with a person who hurt my feelings! I continued towards the ferry, and boarded. My best friend left me, all I had were my pokemon, that's it. I went on the deck, and let everyone out._

_Cor!_

_Gro!_

_Swell!_

_Tor!_

_Sno!_

_"Hey guys..." I started._

_They all cocked their heads in confusion, wondering why I was sad._

_"...We're going to Sinnoh alone without Pikachu."_

_They all gasped at what they had heard, knowing Pikachu was my very first pokemon and best friend._

_"I know...but he chose to go with the others than be with us...-"_

_Then I heard shouting. I looked over the ledge and saw Max and Brock running to the port. And when I looked in the distance, I couldn't believe what I saw...May. She was running slower than the others, but she was still running._

_Max and Brock were now at the port trying to get past the ticketmaster._

_"What do you want?" I yelled over the side of the boat._

_They saw me and ran to the side,as close as possible._

_"We're here to talk you out of this!"_

_I laughed out loud enough so they could hear me, they looked confused._

_"Don't you see? I'm destined to go to Sinnoh!" I told them back over the side._

_They looked at me like I was stupider than a mankey. I knew what I said was true, if people like May lived in Hoenn, I wouldn't get along there ever again. Plus, it was the only other region I knew I hadn't been. The horn blew, and I just waved to my friends, and walked away from the deck. _

_"ASH!"_

_I recognized the voice over the ledge, but tried not to look. I didn't succeed, and I saw May on the deck now panting like crazy._

_"Ash, please don't go. I didn't mean those things, honest!" She yelled up at me. __I was amazed at what I was hearing. The girl who told me a couple hours ago to leave and never come back, now wanted me back? I couldn't believe this anymore, so I watched as the boat pulled out and my 'friends' grew smaller. I was __left without them, and them without me, and me without Pikachu._

_"Well guys, get ready for a new adventure." I told my pokemon, reassuring their spirits. __They tried to cheer, but just couldn't put the happiness into it. I ignored it and sat on the deck, awaiting my new adventure._

**END**

**I know his pokemon evolved and changed during Kanto, but please ignore it. It helps me :)**


	2. the crash, and introductions

**The New Girl**

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience. We will be arriving in Sandgem town in 5 minutes, it's just coming into view."

I ran to the side of the deck, and looked at the land we were getting so close to now. I am Ash Ketchum, wanna-be pokemon master. I was headed to Sinnoh alone, because I had recently left my friends. Pikachu was no longer with me, just swellow, grovyle, corphish, torkoal, and snorunt.

"Perk up guys, we're almost there." I tried for the hundredth time to cheer up my pokemon, but they just sat on the deck sulking. When the boat docked, I returned my pokemon and burst off the ship. I saw a mall, so I immediately ran the other direction. I ran for a long time, unitl I saw a little sign up ahead. I began to slow down, and read it.

_-Sandgem town, Twinleaf town-_

I decided to go to Twinleaf town first, since it sounded nice and probably had a pokemon center. I began running again, but I heard something. I ran in the direction of the noise, but there was nothing around. No pokemon, people, anything. Just the wind blowing through the trees. Then I heard it again, it sounded like a scream. I came a little further until there was an opening, I looked around and I was still alone.

"I must be hearing things." I said to myself. How wrong I was. I decided to continue to Twinleaf town, but the scream came closer. I stood frozen, hoping whatever it was would walk harmlessly past me, but it kept getting louder and louder. Until I finally realized where it was coming from. "That sounds like it's coming from...!" I told myself, but I was too late. I turned to my left and saw the hill, but there was a blue and red blur coming down the hill, and crashed into me before I could make out what it was. It sent me soaring into the nearest tree, knocking me unconscious.

"...What...where...am I...?" I opened my eyes and saw a roof.

I jumped up but accidentally fell off the bed I was resting in, and my head felt like a herd of Tauros just ran me over. I looked around and saw I was no longer in the forest, but a house. A simple little house, in a nice little room. Then I heard footsteps, coming from behind the doorway. The door opened up, and a lady looking around her 30's walked in.

"Oh thank goodness, you're awake!" She announced.

"Hmm? Where am I, and how did I get here? Why does my head hurt _so _much?" I asked her, rubbing my head from the serious pain.

"You're in my home. And my daughter, Dawn, brought you here after she accidentally crashed into you on her bike." she explained to me.

"Oh..." I managed to fumble out.

"Dawn, you don't have to worry anymore! He's awake!" she yelled down the stairs.

"Hold on! Did you say you had a daughter?" I asked her, amazed.

"Yes, why?" she replied.

"You don't look a day over 30!" I nearly screamed out.

"Why thank you. You sure are nice for a teenager." she giggled back at me.

I joined her in laughing, then the blue blur zoomed in the door and knocked me back down on the bed. When I opened my eyes, I saw a girl hugging me.

"Oh thank goodness! I'm so happy I didn't kill you! I'm so sorry for hitting you!"

I just layed there, listening to this strange girl apologize over and over and over again. When she finally let go of me, I saw her smiling and nearly crying.

"I'm so sorry, if I had killed you, I never would have forgave myself. I might have even..." she started to tear out.

"Now, now dear, there's no reason for those words. He's okay. Now, I suppose we should introduce ourselves, my name is Johanna Berlitz." she told me.

"And as you probably heard earlier, my name is Dawn Berlitz." she said smiling to me.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Ash Ketchum, from Pallet town." I told them.

Johanna and Dawn gasped when I mentioned Pallet town.

"You mean you're from Pallet town, in Kanto?" Dawn asked, still astonished.

"That must have been a long journey, feel free to stay here as long as you like." Johanna said to me.

I felt so happy to know there were good people in this land, unlike Team Rocket.

"Thanks for your hospitality." I told them.

"No problem at all. Now, would you like something to eat or drink? You must be a little hungry." She asked me.

When I heard her say eat, I jumped up and grabbed her hand, and started shaking it as gentle as I could.

"!" I said to her.

Dawn just giggled at my behavior, and I looked at her.

"What's so funny?" I asked her.

"You really must be hungry! Let's go downstairs and have dinner then." she said.

I ran down the stairs, but didn't know the stairs were _right _around the corner, and fell down. The girls followed me down, and we had a couple of conversations about the previous pokemon leagues I had entered in the past, while enjoying a delicious dinner.

"Those must have been long and hard years." Dawn said to me.

"Ya, but I managed to pull through." I said back.

"Did you have any friends helping you at all?" Johanna asked me.

I looked up at the ceiling.

"No, not that I remember." I replied to her.

"WOW! Doing all of that alone! YOU'RE THE BEST TRAINER I KNOW!" she yelled.

I was surprised at her sudden outburst, and leaned over towards Johanna.

"Is she always like this?" I whispered to her, pointing at the girl with star eyes staring at the ceiling.

"I'm afraid so, she is a tough girl to take care of." she whispered back.

I kept looking at the girl, until she snapped out of it and said to me.

"Wait, how in all those years did you not get a friend?" she looked at me with a confused expression on her face.

"You know...I'm not really sure..." I said back to her.

Dawn then stared at me for a long time, but I didn't even notice. Johanna saw my empty plate and took it from beneath me, but I grabbed it back from her.

"Don't worry Johanna, I got them." I said, collecting all the empty dishes.

"Wow, Dawn. You could learn a thing or two from him about being polite." Johanna told Dawn.

"Mom!"

"Don't fight, it's the least I could do for you bringing me here, and taking care of me." I told them smiling, walking over to their sink.

"Dawn, exactly _how_ hard did you hit him?" Johanna asked leaning over to her daughter while Ash wasn't paying attention.

"Really hard, I was falling down the hill super fast and I sent him soaring into a tree. I heard his head smack really hard against it." Dawn replied, thinking back to the moment that blurred past.

"Maybe he did have friends, but you just knocked them out of him." Johanna suggested.

"GASP! Then I really hurt him!" she shrieked, grabbing the boy's attention.

"Something wrong?" Ash asked, looking at them curiously.

"Nothing! We were just thinking maybe you could travel with Dawn when she gets her first pokemon." Johanna said.

He looked back at Dawn.

"You don't have a pokemon yet?" he asked her.

"No. But my 10th birthday is in 3 days." she told me.

"So you're not very far from your pokemon journey?" I asked her again.

"nope, really close now." she said, now even peppier than before.

"Strange, because you look like you're 13." I told her.

"My my, you're full of compliments." Johanna said to me.

"Well, thank you Ash. That's very nice of you to say." Dawn said back, now blushing.

Johanna looked at her and saw the pink on her face, then she smiled.

"Well, do you want to see my pokemon?" I suggested to her.

"That would be great!" she said back to me, pepped up once again.

I nodded and threw my 5 pokeballs. From them came a red lobster, a green gecko, an orange turtle, a medium sized bird and a yellow-shaded pokemon who began to dance.

_Cor!_

_Grovyle!_

_Torkoal!_

_Swellow!_

_Snorunt runt!_

"Dawn, Johanna, meet Corphish, Grovyle, Torkoal, Swellow and Snorunt." I explained.

"Hello guys!" Dawn explaimed, being starry eyed once more.

"My my Ash, you are certainly the most impressive child I've ever met!" Johanna said to me.

"Thanks. Now guys, we're going to play nice in Miss Berlitz's house, okay?" I told them.

They gave me a peppy cheer, and all ran upstairs.

"They seem to want to play upstairs." Johanna said.

"I'm gonna go play with them!" Dawn exclaimed, and ran upstairs after the pokemon.

"She certainly is energetic, isn't she?" I asked her mother.

"Yes, it's very difficult keeping her under control. But only three more days until she sets off." Johanna sighed.

"I would be happy to travel with her." I told her, hoping to reassure her spirit.

"Really? I hope this wouldn't be a burden, she can get really out of hand..." she began, but I stopped her.

"It's okay, I would be more than happy to take her off your hands." I told her, smiling.

She nodded, and began washing the dishes. I joined her.

"I still can't believe that you have great looking pokemon, and help with dishes." she said, now beginning to laugh.

"I know, I can't really believe it either, since I'm still a kid." I said, now beginning to join in laughter.

We had a nice conversation, with a couple of thumps every now and then, from Dawn and the pokemon upstairs. Then nightfall came, and they let me stay the night.

"Are you sure? I can just sleep outside." I told Johanna.

"No, I'm not letting an angel sleep outside." she said to me, smiling. I smiled back at her, and walked upstairs to the guest room where I woke up. I heard Dawn giggling down the hall and decided to visit her. I peeked in her door, and saw her in her pajamas writing in a book.

"What are you doing?" I asked her. She jumped, but saw me standing in the doorframe and smiled at me.

"Writing in my diary, no peeking." she playfully said to me.

"Writing about me?" I asked her, now smiling.

"Yes, how I met my new friend." she told me, now blushing.

"Okay, I'm going to bed, goodnight." I told her and began out the door, but something grabbed my hand and stopped me. I looked back and saw Dawn standing beside me, smiling.

"Are you sure? It's so early..." she told me.

" I know, but I want to get up early and do some training." I told her.

"Okay, goodnight then." she frowned as she walked back towards her bed.

"Goodnight." I replied, then headed towards the guest room down the hall. I changed into my night boxers and slid under the covers. I thought about something. It''s like I forgot something important...but couldn't put my finger on it.

**END**


	3. setting off, and preparations

**Hospitality Ends Here**

"WAKE UP!"

I jumped and hit my head off the roof, being woken up by that yell. I looked back up and saw Dawn smiling at me.

"Sorry, you wouldn't wake up at all." she said to me.

"It's okay. Let's get some breakfast." I said, and I began walking to the door, but I noticed Dawn didn't follow.

"Something wrong Dawn?" I asked.

"...Don't you want to get dress first?" she asked me, now giggling.

I looked down and noticed I was still in my boxers, I smiled nervously, and slipped on a shirt and some pants. Then we went downstairs, to see Johanna making breakfast.

"Johanna, you could have asked me to help." I told her.

"It's okay, and you seemed to be having a happy dream about a Pikachu." she said, smiling.

"Hmm, I must have caught one in my sleep." I chuckled.

We all sat down and had breakfast, talking about Dawn's journey.

"So you want to be a coordinator?" I asked her.

"Yep. I want to be as famous as my mom was." Dawn told me, pointing at the trophies on shelves.

"Oh yeah. I saw those yesterday and was going to ask about them, but I guess I forgot." I chuckled.

"Oh Ash, you sound as forgetful as Dawn." she giggled.

"Mom! No need to worry!" Dawn yelled.

"That's when I worry the most." she sighed.

I just smiled at the sight of those two, and continued eating. Wehn we were finished, we watched some videos of Johanna in her coordinator career.

"Wow Johanna, I didn't know you were that good!" I was amazed as I watched young Johanna defeat every trainer in the grand festival.

"Ya, I was quite the trainer back then. Say Ash, you sound good from all the pokemon leagues you've entered, how about a battle?" she suggested.

"Sure! I would be honored to battle you!" I jumped up and exclaimed.

We went outside and got on the battle field.

"Alright, one on one?" she asked me.

"Okay. I choose Corphish!" I threw the pokeball and out popped my red lobster pokemon.

"Alright, I choose Glameow." she said.

And she threw the pokeball, releasing the cat pokemon.

"You have the honors Johanna." I said to her.

"Okay, but you'll regret it. Use shadow ball!" she commanded her pokemon.

Glameow charged a purple ball in its mouth and shot it towards Corphish.

"Harden and use bubblebeam!" I yelled.

Corphish shined silver as the shadow ball made contact, and covered Corphish in smoke. Then bubbles came shooting out of the smoke towards Glameow.

"use swift and quick attack!" she yelled.

Glameow darted towards the bubbles, then began spinning and shooting stars. The stars exploded against the bubbles and Glameow made its way to Corphish and slammed it backwards.

"Corphish, stand strong and use crabhammer!" I shouted.

Corphish's claw began to glow, and darted across the battle field towards Glameow.

"Spin and use swift!" Johanna commanded.

Glameow then began to spin in circles and stars shot in every direction. eventually, there were stars all around Glameow. Corphish tried to get past the stars, but they hit Corphish and he couldn't get past. Then all the stars became a wall in front of Glameow, and Glameow charged through the wall.

"Now use attract." she said calmly.

Glameow fired a heart towards Corphish and made contact. Corphish became starry eyed, and stood there staring at Glameow.

"No! Corphish, snap out of it!" I yelled, but he wouldn't listen.

"Finish this with dig, and use multiple shadow balls." she told her cat pokemon.

Glameow dug into the ground and filled the entire field with holes. Then shadow balls came up form every hole, and hit Corphish. When the smoke cleared, Corphish had swirly eyes.

"I guess that's it..." I said in a low voice, calling back my defeated pokemon.

"Ash, don't be ashamed. You're a very skilled trainer, but I had more experience than you in the past." she told me.

We shook hands and went inside. When we got inside, Dawn jumped in front of me.

"Your Corphish was amazing! I think I'm gonna start with a water type pokemon!" she exclaimed.

I smiled nervously and nodded, saying it was a good idea. Then she asked me if I wanted to go for a walk. I didn't know what to say, but when I saw Johanna nodding her head behind Dawn, I agreed. We went outside and walked down the street.

"Ash, how come you don't have a girlfriend?" she suddenly asked.

"What?" I was startled at her sudden asking of that question.

"Girlfriend. If you've met lots of girls over the years, how come you haven't developed any relationship?" she asked again.

"Well... I just haven't met the right girl yet..." I started, but she cut me off again.

"What kind if girl would it be?" she asked.

She just stared at me, clearly wanting a straight answer. I didn't know what to say, because I'd never been in that situation before.

"Well... she would have to be nice, caring, and doesn't annoy me that much..." I said, and she stood there, listening and nodding.

She looked at the ground, and started kicking some dirt.

"What's wrong?" I asked, concerned about her.

"Nothing. I just wish I was old enough for a relationship." she said to me, beginning to sound like she was going to cry.

"Well, it's true you shouldn't be in a relationship until you're at least 13... but don't worry. You're a nice girl, and any guy would be happy to date you." I said, reassuring her spirit.

She looked up at me and wiped her eyes.

"Thanks Ash! Come on, I want to show you someplace special." she said to me, smiling like I hadn't seen her before.

She grabbed my hand and dragged me up a hill that seemed to never stop. When we finally reached the top, she let go of my hand and looked at me again.

"I always come out here to watch the sunset, whenever I'm feeling sad or down." she said.

I nodded, and looked out at the sea. It was the first time I actually ever appreciated the view, it was beautiful. I never really looked at it before, but now, I'm happy I looked. I looked back at Dawn, who was now sitting against the one tree on the hill. I sat down beside her, and she looked at me.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked me.

"Yes. I've never really looked at it before, but now I'm glad I came up here with you. You're not like the other girls I've met, Dawn. You're...different." I said.

"Wow Ash, I haven't met a boy like you. You're different too." she told me, now blushing a little.

"Well, I'm glad about that. So what are you going to do while travelling?" I asked her.

"I don't know...entering contests, and hopefully finding some friends to travel with me, so I don't get lonely..." she started, but I put my finger on her lips to stop her.

"What do you say about me traveling with you?" I asked, now smiling at her.

"That would be awesome Ash! I'd love to travel with you!" she said, now throwing herself into my arms, embracing me in a happy death grip.

"Okay, then it's settled. Can you let me breath a little?" I asked her, now feeling a little dizzy.

"Oh I'm so sorry." she said while immediately letting me loose.

"Thanks." I said, looking back at the sunset.

I stared for a while, until I felt something heavy on my shoulder. I looked down and saw Dawn, smiling up at me. I smiled back and didn't want to disturb her, so we sat there and enjoyed the sunset. When we went home, she stopped me at the door.

"Thanks Ash." she said.

"Your welcome." I said, smiling at her.

Then she kissed me on the cheek and ran inside. I stood there, still shocked and rubbing the spot where her lips had touched me. I smiled to myself, and headed inside. The next day went really fast, learning a little about Sinnoh from Johanna. Then the fated day came, for Dawn's journey.

"Alright, you two take care." Johanna told us, as we headed for the door.

"We will. Bye mom!" Dawn said, now out the door.

"Thanks again for your hospitality Johanna, I guess I'll see you around." I started.

"Ash, wait." she said, cutting me off.

"Hmm? Something the matter?" I asked, now feeling concerned.

"Ash, I want you to take good care of her. She isn't allowed into a relationship yet." she said, now sounding pretty strict.

"Don't worry, I won't let her leave my sight." I said, giving her a thumbs up.

"Okay, and if you ever want her with you, just call me first." she said with a wink.

"Johanna, I'm not sure if I'm going to..." I started, but she cut me off again.

"I've seen you look at her Ash, mothers can tell when a boy has a crush on their daughter." she said, with another wink.

"Okay, if you say so..." I said.

"Ash hurry up! I want to get my first pokemon already!"

"Just a second Dawn!" I yelled back out the door.

"you'll take extra care of her, and ask me first if you want to get closer to her?" she asked me.

"Of course. Goodbye." I said, now stepping out the door.

"Goodbye Ash, good luck in the Sinnoh league." she said.

I saw Dawn standing on the road with a bike, smiling.

"Keep up!" she said, now pedaling down the road.

"Hey!" I shouted, running after her.

Johanna stepped outside and watched me chase her down the street, and smiled.

"Dawn is going to be very happy with him." she whispered to herself.

**_Meanwhile, in Kanto..._**

"Don't worry sis. I'm sure he's fine in Sinnoh. He has to miss us."

"Yeah... probably."

"Come on, I'm doing the best I can for you."

"Fine."

"Guys, I think we should head to Pallet Town. Tell his mom about him going to Sinnoh."

"Good idea, the next boat leaves in an hour, let's stock up first."

**END**


	4. You may know it, but they don't

**The Beginning**

"Wait up!" shouted Ash, trying to keep up.

"You'll have to catch me!" replied Dawn, who was ahead of him on her bike.

The two were now headed to Sandgem Town, on the day of Dawn's 10th birthday to receive her starter pokemon. They just entered Sandgem Town, and the two were looking at a postcard with a map to Professor Rowan's laboratory.

"Okay, it says take a left here, then a right and another left." Dawn said, steering to the left with Ash chasing after five minutes later, Ash was beside Dawn with a disappointed look on his face.

"I told you to wait up, if you did we wouldn't be lost." Ash told her.

"Oh be quiet, I have a better sense of direction from what I heard yesterday." she said back, smiling at him.

"I'm better with small maps." Ash mumbled, kicking some dirt.

"Excuse me."

They both turned around to see a man in a brown coat, looking at them.

"Are you lost?" he asked.

"No no, we're just fine." Dawn said, putting on a fake smile.

"But you don't seem fine, you seem worried." he said.

"Well, we're going to Professor Rowan's Lab for her first pokemon, but she read the map wrong." Ash told him.

"Hey!" Dawn snapped, giving him a glare.

"Well if you would like, I could direct you there. As a professor in this region, I must help out new trainers who don't know their way." he said, gesturing them to follow as he walked away.

"Okay...wait! Did you say you were a professor?" Dawn asked, looking at him.

"Yes, I'm Professor Rowan. Now let's go so you can start your journey." he said.

They followed him until they reached a building with a windmill. When they go to the door, it opened and inside it looked like a tornado had hit.

"What happened here?" Rowan asked one of his assistants, who greeted him at the door.

"Sir, we had a problem with the chimchar and piplup for the new trainer, and hey managed to escape. And on a further note, the Starly and Staraptor form my evolution research got out as well." he explained.

"Hmm...we have to get them back somehow." Rowan said, scratching his chin.

"Sir, I'd like to go look for them!" Dawn said.

"Are you sure Dawn? They could be anywhere by now." Ash said.

"That's a good idea, since you could pick one of them for your pokemon. They couldn't ave gotten that far since they're not that grown up yet. Just crouch to eye level, then you should be able to calm them down." Rowan explained to Dawn.

"Okay, let's go Ash!" she exclaimed, dragging Ash out the door.

Minutes later, they found Chimchar and Piplup fighting in the forest nearby.

"Piplup, calm down!" Dawn shouted to the penguin.

"Chimchar, why are you acting this way?" Ash asked the monkey pokemon.

Piplup used bubblebeam on them, and chased after Chimchar back into the forest.

"Man, how are we going to get them?" Ash asked Dawn.

"Wait! We'll use my pokemon food to lure them in!" Dawn exclaimed, puling out a canister from her backpack.

"Perfect! Okay, let's go!" Ash said, running in and being followed by Dawn. Soon, they hear a cry and find it's Piplup, trapped on a spider web.

"Piplup, well have you out of there soon!" Dawn said, taking a step towards it, but was stopped by a sludge bomb attack. Dawn and Ash looked up to see an Ariados.

"Ariados, leave them alone!" Ash yelled, but was nearly hit by a sludge bomb.

"Alright, follow me Ariados!" Dawn yelled, running away and having the spider follow her. Soon, she circled around and was standing in front of the web.

"Don't worry Piplup, won't be long now." Dawn said, winking at the penguin.

Ariados fired another sludge bomb at Dawn, but she jumped out of the way and the attack destroyed the web! She caught Piplup, but fell down a hill. ash followed and helped her up, but soon saw they had enraged a group of Ariados.

"Dawn, stay behind me," Ash said, stepping in front. "Torkoal, flamethrower!" Ash yelled as he threw a pokeball, releasing his turtle. It fired a strong flame at them and hit the right on, they fell out of the tree and got right back up.

"What? That's supposed to be super effective!" Ash yelled, astonished.

The Ariados fired a poison sting at Torkoal.

"Iron defense, then use flamethrower again!" Ash shouted.

Torkoal retracted into its shell, and the poison sting attack bounced off. Then it came back out and fired another flame at the spiders, and hit them deda on again.

"That should hold them for a while, let's go find chimchar!" Ash told Dawn, as she nodded and followed him away from the pokemon. Soon they reached a lake.

"Hey, it's Lake Verity." Dawn said, pointing to the water.

"Lake Verity?" Ash asked confused.

Then he heard a noise.

"Dawn, I heard something over in those bushes and I'm gonna check it out. You be careful, okay?" Ash told her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Okay." she said, smiling sweetly.

Ash nodded and disappeared into the bushes, then Dawn heard something from the lake. She looked back, and saw the wind blowing the water gently on the surface. Then, a shadow appeared on the surface of the water. It danced around in the air, and then disappeared back into the water. Dawn and Piplup had a crazed expression on their faces, then Ash came back.

"Did you see that Ash?" Dawn asked, pointing to the water.

"What, Lake Verity?" Ash asked her with a confused face.

"No, the shadow that was on the surface!" she yelled, waving her arms around.

"Dawn, are you okay? Maybe you're a little excited about your first pokemon that you're seeing things. We should head back to the lab, a staraptor caught chimchar and is heading back there." Ash told her.

She slowly nodded, and followed him back with Piplup in her arms. When they got back to the lab, Rowan greeted them with Chimchar on his shoulder.

"Well, it looks like you've found the other one. It's been a busy day for you, hasn't it?" he asked, looking at Dawn.

"Yes it has, but can I ask you something first?" Dawn asked, putting a serious expression on her face. She explained to the professor about the shadow on the lake she saw, and how it just disappeared.

"Hmm, there has been rumors of a legendary pokemon living in that lake. That might have been what you saw." he told her.

"Legendary pokemon? Wow." Dawn stuttered.

"I guess you're excited about your journey. Why don't we have you select your starter pokemon now?" Rowan suggested with a smile.

Dawn happily nodded and everyone went over to the table in the corner.

"Now, the three starter pokemon in the Sinnoh region are these ones right here. The fire type Chimchar, the water type Piplup, and the grass type Turtwig." he said, poiting to the three pokemon on the table.

"I know who I want, Piplup!" Dawn exclaimed, pointing at the penguin.

"Okay. Here's Piplup's pokeball. and here are five empty pokeballs and your pokedex." Rowan said, handing her a tray with pokeballs and a pokedex. She smiled and grabbed them, putting them in her backpack.

"Now your journey has begun. Good luck on you career path." he said, smiling again.

Ash and Dawn exited the building, Dan grabbed her bike, and travelled down the road leading to Jubilife City.

"I can't wait for the contest!" Dawn said happily.

"I know, but remember we have to get there first." Ash told her, rolling his eyes.

Dawn nodded and pedaled faster, leaving Ash in the dust.

"Hey! What did I say about slowing down?" Ash yelled, but was heard by no one. He ran and caught up to her, then tapped her on the shoulder which startled her and she almost fell over. But Ash saw this, and jumped beneath her and caught her. She looked down and saw Ash holding her, causing her to blush.

"Thanks, but don't sneak up on me." she said.

"No problem." he replied.

They sat there for a while, until Ash spoke again.

"You can get off of me now." he said.

"Oh, sorry." she said, blushing and jumping off of him.

"Okay, let's get going." he said, and raced ahead of her.

"Hey, no fair!" she yelled, but he didn't hear. She jumped on her bike and chased after the boy.

Meanwhile in Kanto...

"Hello, is anyone home?"

"Ah! May, Max and Brock, good to see you!"

"It's good to see you too."

"But where's Ash?"

"That's the reason we came over. We have to tell you something."


	5. Found! May's side

**What Happens in Hoenn, Goes to Kanto, and then...?**

"He went WHERE?"

Kanto. A beautiful land to visit and enjoy the scenery. But in Pallet Town, we have a problem that disturbs that peace.

"Mrs. Ketchum, please just calm down and we'll-" Brock started.

"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CALM DOWN WHEN HE GOES SOMEWHERE WITHOUT TELLING ME!" you could hear the voice of Delia Ketchum throughout the house and probably the town.

"Listen!" Max yelled. He got her attention, and she sat back down and stopped panicking.

"What is it Max? I'm sorry about exploding, it's just he usually tells me about this kind of stuff..." she said slowly.

"Mrs. Ketchum, we didn't think this would happen either. And it might be...my fault..." May started, staring at the ground.

"Your fault? Oh no sweetie, it can't be your fault. Don't blame yourself, I know it's hard to lose a good friend unexpectedly." Delia said reassuring her.

"No. It _was_ my fault!" May sobbed, running up the stairs holding back a river of tears.

"Uh...did I say something?" Delia asked, confused on what had just happened.

"It wasn't you. She apparently had a conversation with him just before he said he was leaving, and she still won't tell anyone what they had said to each other." Brock stated.

"Hmm...he is at that age..." Delia pondered out loud.

"Hey! I'm in the room! And besides, my sister would not feel like that about Ash!" Max shouted, waving his arms in the air.

Upstairs, she heard him shouting and sighed, while still sobbing.

"_Oh Max, if only it were that easy to say. I didn't feel like that when he was still there, but now that he's gone...I don't know what I'm feeling anymore! I liked Drew, but now I know he's gone and I can't bring him back. He used to sleep right here..." _May thought, but was snapped out by a voice.

"May?"

May whizzed around and saw Brock leaning against the doorframe with a smile on his face.

"I know it's a confusing feeling, but it will get easier if you just tell him." Brock said, still smiling.

"W-What? What are you taking about? I-I don't have any special feeling for h-him!" May shouted, waving her hands in the air and panicking.

"I didn't say anything about it being directed to him." Brock chuckled, his smile getting bigger.

"..." May just stood there, like she could just faint.

"Look. It's not as bad if you go find him and tell him." Brock said, walking closer.

"But how can I find him? He could be anywhere in Sinnoh..." she said, lowering her head. Brock put his hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him.

"I think if you come downstairs, you'll find out soon enough." he said, pointing to the doorway. She looked puzzled, but headed downstairs anyway. When she got downstairs, she saw Delia and Max watching TV with an anticipated look on their face.

"What's going on?" she asked the two.

"Sinnoh contest, ssh!" Max said, not taking his eyes off the screen.

May shrugged her shoulders, and sat down beside him. There were a lot of good competitors, but only two made it to the end.

Marian on the screen announced, "We are coming to the thrilling end of this Sinnoh contest in Jublife city! On my right in the finals, I have Zoey!"

She pointed to the right towards a girl with red hair, in a green suit.

"And on my right, Dawn from Twinleaf Town!"

She pointed her arm to the right towards a blunette in a pink dress, looking very nervous.

"Wow, they were both so good. Who you cheering for May?" Max asked, still not taking his eyes off the screen.

"I don't know I just can't wait!" she squealed, also not looking away.

After a thrilling finals between the Buneary and Glameow, the results had been decided.

"Time's up! And our winner is...Dawn, from Twinleaf Town!"

There was a roar of applause on the screen, as they watched Dawn receive the ribbon from Mr. Contesta.

"I hear this is your first ribbon, you have definitely earned it Dawn." Mr. Contesta said proudly while smiling.

"Okay! I'm almost as good as my mom was!" she squealed.

"Oh?"

"Yes, my mom was the top coordinator Johanna!" she exclaimed, while the judges and Marian gasped.

"You're the amazing Johanna's daughter? No wonder you're so remarkable!" Mr. Sukizo said, astonished.

"Yep! And I couldn't do it without my best friend cheering me on!" she said, pointing to someone in the crowd.

But in the Ketchum's house, there was an awkward silence. On the screen, in the stands standing and cheering...was Ash.

"No need to worry Dawn! I knew you could win!" he shouted, waving his hands.

"Thanks Ash!" she said back, blushing.

"...So who's up to go to Sinnoh?" Brock said standing up and breaking the silence.

"Me!"

"I'm in!"

"Okay, we'll set off for the next ferry, which I think is in..." Brock started, but was cut off.

"Tonight at 5pm. The ferry to Sinnoh goes for 2 hours. Then you port in Canalave City, right next to Jubilife City." Delia said, smiling.

"How did you...?" Max started, but stopped.

"I take vacations, it's nice in Sinnoh." she said smiling again.

"Well, I guess we'll stay here for a couple hours for dinner." Brock said.

"Alright! From what I've heard, you're a good competitor for Brock in cooking!" Max shouted, earning himself a smack from his sister.

"Max! That's rude!" she yelled at the sibling.

"It's okay, I enjoy cooking for my son's friends." she said, getting up and heading to the kitchen.

"I'll help you." Brock said, getting up and following.

May smiled, and looked back at the screen.

"_Hold on Ash, I'm coming._" May thought.

Hours passed, and they had a delightful dinner from the two cooks. Soon came the time to leave for the ferry.

"Thank you again for your hospitality." Brock shouted back to Delia at the doorstep.

"No problem at all. Now you have a safe trip!" she said, waving at the three heading down the path.

"Three tickets for the 5 o'clock to Sinnoh please."

The man nodded and typed up some stuff on his computer, then he handed Brock three tickets.

"Thank you." he said, walking back towards the bench May was sitting on. She sat there with her chin in her hands, staring out at the sea while her brother played in the tree behind them. Brock smiled, and sat down beside her.

"I think you're going to have to hurry if you want it." he said, snapping her out of her trance.

"Huh? What would I want?" she asked, puzzled.

"Oh come on, you can't say you forget about what you said earlier today." he said, crossing his arms. She blushed, and looked away.

"I told you, I don't have any special feelings." she said, her blush slowly disappearing.

"You may say that, but you know it's true. And I'm thinking theres another reason he chose that girl to travel with." he said, frowning.

"What? Dawn? Ash wouldn't feel that way, he's so dense!" May giggled.

"Maybe, but did he cheer _that _much for you when you won your first contest?" he said, looking her eye to eye.

"...Well...no...what's your point?" she asked.

"I've known Ash for years now, and I know how his brain works. I can tell that now, there's something other than battles and food swirling in his mind." he chuckled, followed by May giggling again.

Soon the boat arrived and the three got on. The boat drifted for hours until Sinnoh came into view.

"There it is!" Max shouted, pointing over the ledge.

"I think we should head straight out to Oreburgh city, since it's the closest to Jubilife with a gym. And if I know Ash, he's probably there already." Brock said, laughing.

They got off the ship and ran towards Jubilife city, until they passed through, and arrived at a sign that said Oreburgh was 4 miles away.

"I've been thinking abou something." May suddenly said.

"Hmm? What about?" Max looked back at her with a confused face on.

"I was thinking about the time before he left...what if he won't want to see me?" she said shyly.

"Why won't he want to see you?" Max asked still confused, but Brock understood.

"May, we won't be able to help until you tell us what you said to him." he said in a strict tone.

May sighed, and hesitantly...explained everything. After some time, they arrived in Oreburgh as May stopped her story.

"Wow...May, don't you think you were a little harsh?" Max asked in a concerned voice.

"I told him I was sorry when I caught him on the ferry!" she said.

"Yeah Max, she was blinded by rage. Hey look!" Brock said, pointing to the left.

"...umm...which way should we go?" May asked, pointing both left and right.

"This...I admit, I don't know which he would choose." Max said, rubbing the back of his head.

It seems they have hit a snag in the road. Now they must decide between two choices of where Ash would be, gym...or restaurant.

**END**

**A/N:Ha! It may be old taste, but you gotta admit the end would happen in real pokemon. Now, a couple of things will be messed up with the chapter, as Pearlshipping wil kick in and threaten this advanceshipping tale.**

**Also, I know Dawn didn't win against ZOey, but I have to make the storyline play out smoothly.**

**So no flames, R&R!**


	6. Found! Ash's side

**A/N: Here it is, pearlshipping comes to fruition. If you don't like it, go complain to someone else.**

"Congratulations Dawn, I knew you could do it."

Dawn blushed when her best friend said that, and thanked him for the support.

"What do you say we have a celebration dinner, just for you?" Ash asked, now putting his hand on her shoulder.

"What, really? You would do that much for me?" she was taken back by his suggestion.

"Come on, it's my treat. I'll pay!" he now grabbed her hand and tried to pull her off her bike, but she wouldn't budge. He slowly walked beside the girl riding the bike, and stopped in front of a large building called _Le Palais D'ar__ôme._

"Ash, will you be able to afford this? I heard this place is so expensive!" she said, beginning to lose her balance as she got off her bike and locked it into a nearby bike rack.

"For you Dawn, anyway." he said with a smile, causing her to blush. He pulled her into the restaurant and were seated by the window. The menus arrived, and Dawn broke the silence.

"Ash, this is amazing. I have you to thank for all of this." she said, putting her hand on his and smiling.

"No problem Dawn." he replied smiling back at her. Later, the two kids ordered some cuisine. When the food arrived, Dawn dug in and noticed Ash just staring at his food.

"What's wrong?" she asked in a concerned voice.

"I've just got something on my mind." he replied, putting a small bit of food in his mouth.

"What is it? Ash, girls can always tell when something's wrong." she said sweetly.

"_sigh_….Dawn, what was that kiss for, back at your house after our walk?" he asked, eating some more. Dawn blushed as she thought back to when she kissed him and ran inside.

"Well….I really like you, and I felt you earned it somehow." she said, putting some food in her mouth. She felt his hand on hers, and looked up to see Ash staring at her.

"_How_ did I deserve it?" he said, smiling.

"Well…I…uh…." she stammered, now blushing deeper. Ash began laughing.

"It's okay Dawn, you're just feeling normal behaviour as you grow up." he reassured her, smiling and eating some more.

"I thought so…but, I'm just scared it was with you." she said, looking down at her feet under the table.

"Scared?" he asked, tilting his head.

"Yes. I only had one friend before you came along, and he left on his journey before me. But then you came along, and I felt something deeper than what I felt with him." she said, not taking her eyes away from her feet.

"Dawn, it's okay. It's okay to be human, you'll find love someday." he said smiling, with a visible tinge of pink on his cheek. She looked back up to his face, and stared deep into his auburn eyes.

"…I want it with you, Ash." she said.

"What did you say Daw-?" he started, but was cut off by her lips coming in contact with his. He felt something strange, like a flame had just lit inside him, but never came out until this happened. He thought it had been impossible, but he knew….it was love.

"Awwwww!"

Ash and Dawn snapped their heads to see a group of adults looking at them, who now had deep blushes on their faces.

"Honey, they're so cute!" one girl squealed to a man beside her.

"Remember when we were that young, and I first confessed to you?" a different man asked another woman. The moment went on and on with the adults asking each other various questions about their love life. Ash looked back at Dawn, who was now blushing and staring at her feet again.

"Dawn, it's okay again. I feel the same way." he said putting her hand on her hand, snapping her attention to him.

"R-r-really?" she stuttered, and then felt the second kiss of her life. Dawn closed her eyes, but then the adults started cooing about them again.

"What do you say we get out of here?" he asked her, pointing to their empty plates.

"Sure…..sweetie." she said, blushing as she said the last word. Ash nodded, and payed the bill.

"I still can't believe you payed $3500 for our dinner." she said, unlocking her bike and getting on.

"It's alright, you won't believe how much they pay you for making top 8 in the Silver Conference." he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. Dawn just giggled, and hugged him.

"I had a great time, Ash." she whispered into his ear.

"I did too." he replied with a peck on the cheek, causing her to blush once more.

"I guess we better get used to the 'sweetie' thing…and I hope my mom doesn't kill me!" she told him, now covering her mouth and gasping.

"It's okay, Something tells me she'll be okay with it." he told her, thinking back to what Johanna told him before he left.

"Really?" she asked him.

"Absolutely." he put his thumb up to the girl. She giggled at him again, and pecked him on the lips.

"Thanks for the reassurance." she smiled sweetly. He smiled back and they headed off for Oreburgh City, but Ash stopped.

"Oh wait! I have to make a phone call first!" he told her, running into the pokemon centre right beside them. Ash dialled a number, and soon a blunette face appeared on the screen.

"hi Johanna." he said, beginning to blush a little.

"It's okay Ash, I don't mind." she replied smiling. Ash was taken back by her greeting.

"What do you mean?" he asked, confused on what she was thinking.

"Ash, I can tell by your face that you said to to my daughter, and I'm thankful you respected my request to call me when it happened." she stated pointing a finger in the air.

"So…you're okay with it?" he asked.

"I'm perfectly fine, just make sure you treat her like a princess…..otherwise she'll get angry." Johanna giggled, and was joined by Ash.

"It's okay, I will. Thanks again." he said.

"My pleasure, I'm glad someone like you was who she chose." she said smiling.

"Uh….okay. I better go now, she might've left without me." he chuckled, thinking about his impatient….new _girlfriend_.

"Maybe. Just try to teach her some thing about manners, helping out, and not going crazy about coordinator stars." she giggled.

"I will. Goodbye Johanna."

"Goodbye Ash."

Ash turned off the monitor and ran back outside, and met up with the girl where he left her. He smiled nervously at her, and started down the path with her following him.

"Dawn, wait up!"

The next morning, Ash couldn't catch up with the girl _again_ and she was far ahead of him on her bike…._again_.

"Ash, keep up!" she shouted back to him.

"You don't even know where you're going!" Ash replied, now panting. Then he heard a screech, and saw Dawn coming back.

"Sorry, I guess I'm just happy." she said, rubbing the back of her head.

"It's fine. The first couple is always your happiest I guess." he chuckled, and was soon joined by the girl.

"Where are we headed anyway?" she asked him.

"Oreburgh City, there's a gym there." he told her.

"Then let's go win your first badge!." she said sweetly and pecked him on the cheek, then starting riding beside Ash, who was walking. Soon, they arrived in the stone grey town, and Ash was clearly pumped up.

"Yes! Let's go quickly!" he shouted to Dawn and started to run, but Dawn grabbed his arm.

"Come on Ash, I haven't eaten since yesterday! Can't we at least stop for lunch first?" she asked.

"Well….." he started, but saw the puppy eyes Dawn was giving him.

"…Fine, we'll stop for a quick lunch break. I heard somewhere there's a restaurant just up ahead, let's go." he said, pointing towards a building in the distance. Dawn squealed, and sped off away from him towards the aroma filled building, and Ash somehow managed to catch up.

"Mmmm! This place smells delicious!" she squealed.

'Not as good as _La Palais D'ar__ôme…._and I'm not only talking about the food." he told her. She smiled back at him.

"Thank you, it's my little secret." she said sweetly, and ran inside the restaurant. Ash walked inside and followed her and the waitress to the table, when they sat down the waitress held Ash up when Dawn was looking out the window.

"She's a keeper Mr. Ketchum, that's all I'm gonna say." she whispered to him, and walked to another table. Ash sat down and the menus came quickly, when Dawn started browsing through, Ash gave the waitress a quick nod, and she nodded and smiled back.

"I think I'll have….the chilli cheeseburger….with a caesar salad on the side." she said as the waitress wrote on her pad and took her order.

"And you, Mr. Ketchum?" she asked turning to him.

"I think I'll have… a hamburger with fries on the side… and a light salad." he told her, handing her his menu. She wrote on her pad again, took the menus and walked back to the kitchen. Dawn and Ash looked at each other and smiled.

"Well, seems the waitresses know you here in Sinnoh." she said holding a fake smile, but Ash saw right through it.

"Dawn, don't worry. You're the only girl for me, and I wouldn't take a waitress of all people." he replied, taking her hand into his own.

"I wasn't worried about that." she stuttered blushing, and looked quickly out the window.

"I can see right through you Dawn, I know when something's wrong." he told her.

"Hmm, you're as good as a girl." she giggled looking back at him.

The orders arrived and Ash dug in, while Dawn took it slowly.

"Come on Ash, how can you eat like that?" she giggled at him.

"It's just a habit." he replied with a mouth full of food, but she understood.

"Well, maybe I can help with that." she smiled, taking a bite of her burger. Ash smiled, but his attention was drawn out the window to a boy and a man heading towards the gym, and a girl headed towards the restaurant entrance. Ash looked at the girl, and she appeared to have some tears rolling down her cheek.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Dawn asked him.

"Dawn, look at that girl out there. Do you think she went through a bad breakup?" he asked, pointing to the girl and Dawn saw her.

"It does. I guess some people aren't good when it comes to love." she said, frowning.

"It's sad, but it's not like we can just walk up to strangers and ask them about their personal life." he chuckled.

"Yeah, that would be kind of creepy." Dawn giggled.

They both looked over towards the worker at the front door, as he looked down a list and handed the girl a piece of paper. She hugged the man jumping up and down, then ran inside.

"Wow, she seems excited to be here. Maybe she's meeting someone." Ash thought out loud.

"Well, let's watch her and find out." Dawn said, pointing towards the entrance inside and seeing the girl walk through the doorway. She seemed to walk around looking from the paper to a table over and over again , until she looked over at them. She squinted her eyes, and the smiled and ran zigzagging through the table design towards them.

"Maybe she's a fan of you, you did just win the pokemon contest after all." Ash pointed out.

"I think she's your fan, she wouldn't have cried about a girl who won one contest. But a boy almost winning two pokemon leagues, she must be crazy for you." Dawn pointed out, fake smiling again.

"Dawn, you have to work on your acting with smiling." Ash sighed, taking a bite of his burger and looking back at the girl darting for them. She was now on a straightaway or them, and she jumped into Ash's seat and tackled him in a vicious bear hug.

"Uhh…hello?" he said unsure of what just happened, but his only response was Dawn quietly growling and the girl sobbing with a grip getting tighter and tighter.

"Dawn, I think you were right." Ash whispered, and Dawn nodded with a hardened face. He looked down at the girl, and she looked up at him.

"Ash….I'm sorry." she sobbed, tears still coming down.

"…Beg your pardon?"

She continued to stare at him, but them started crying in his chest as she nuzzled deeper and deeper into his gut. Dawn got really annoyed by this, and Ash saw it. He started making gestures for her to calm down, and she slowly calmed down.

"Ma'am, do I know you from somewhere? Or are you a fan?" he asked the girl. She quickly got out of his arms, and looked angry at him.

"Ash Ketchum, don't act like you remember me! I've apologized to you… twice now!" she shouted at him, sitting down beside him.

"Look girl, he says he doesn't know you and he doesn't lie. Now if you want an autograph, just say so and-" Dawn started but stopped when she stared at the girl. She all of a sudden leaped out of the seat and got really close to the strange girl.

"Oh my God, I can't believe you're right in front of me in real life! I'm a huge fan, I've seen every one of your contests!" Dawn started rambling on at the girl. The girl only looked back at Ash, then to Dawn.

"Umm…..are you a fan?" she asked unsure of what happened.

"Of course I am! Ash, this is Hoenn Princess May from Petalburg City on Hoenn!" she shouted, pulling out a book filled with pictures of May in her various contests throughout Hoenn.

"Oh, that's nice." he said calmly.

"Ash, I know you're angry, but aren't you a _little_ excited to see me?" she asked, staring into his eyes.

"How should I know? You're a famous coordinator I've never met before and this all happened so quickly!" he said, putting his face into his palms.

"Ash honey, it's okay. No need to worry!" Dawn put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, and he looked up and smiled at her. May however, had a shocked expression on her face.

"HONEY?" she screamed, getting the attention of the couple.

"Yeah, is something wrong?" Ash asked confusingly.

"Miss May, why are you shocked we're a couple?" Dawn asked her, which only made May faint on the floor, alarming a few people. Ash told them it was nothing serious, and the couple put her on the seat and woke her up. She snapped her eyes open, and sat up quickly.

"I don't believe the dense Ash I knew has a girlfriend." she said quickly with a hint of anger in her voice.

"Is this enough proof?" Ash asked, and kissed Dawn on the lips, When the kiss ended, they smiled at each other…but saw May had fainted again. They woke her up again and she snapped up again.

"How did this happen, when did this happen, and are you sure this is not a prank for popularity?" May attacked them with the barrage of questions, which startled them. Ash and Dawn explained everything from their meeting to the dinner of their hookup. May looked at Ash, and a few tears rolled down her cheek.

"What's wrong May?" Ash asked her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I can't believe you act like nothing happened between us." she sobbed, and fell into his chest again.

"How can I act like nothing happened between us…when nothing happened between us?" he asked confusingly, making the girl slowly get off him.

"What do you mean? We travelled through Hoenn, remember? We were best friends." she told him.

Ash thought about his past, but only remembered leaving Johto alone and going straight to Sinnoh.

"Ash, did you get amnesia?" May asked, getting the boy's attention again.

"No. I went through Johto then came to Sinnoh and met Dawn, that's it." he said, shrugging his shoulders. He noticed May crying again, and put his hand on her shoulder, but she jumped up and ran away leaving Ash and Dawn confused.

Outside, May had bumped into a boy and a man.

"May, did you find anything?" Max asked his sister. She stood there crying, but wiped some away and sobbed;

"No, let's go."

"Maybe he won already and went to Eterna City, come on!" Brock exclaimed, and gently dragged the two siblings down the path.

_"Ash…" _May thought sadly.

**END**

**There you have it, Pearlshipping at the peak, with Advanceshipping tumbling down slowly (stupid cliffhanger joke).**

**PREVIEW: Brock, Max and May settle a camp in the woods on their journey for Ash. As May begins to question whether or not she should tell them the truth of what happened with Ash earlier. But soon, as if a miracle of fate, Ash and Dawn run into the group while they set up camp! Brock and Max's reaction to Ash's memory? And what's this about a new pokemon for Ash? **

**Stay tuned to find out in chapter 7, entitled…'Glittering, Forgotten Memories'!**


	7. Glittering, Forgotten Memories

** Glittering, Forgotten Memories**

In the forest just outside of Oreburgh, a peaceful group of three were setting up camp on a journey. They were all determined to find their old friend, but one wasn't telling the truth.

"_How would Max and Brock react if I told them we passed him at the restaurant? No, I can't think about it. He didn't remember me. But then again…maybe I was the only one he forgot…"_ May' emotions fought in her head, giving her a headache. Brock noticed this.

"May, are you okay?" the breeder asked.

"Yeah, you're more spaced out than usual." Max added.

"Yes, I'm just thinking of something." May replied. The boys looked at each other, then resumed their activities.

"If we can help, just say so." Brock said, pitching up the tent.

"_If only you knew how much you can help…"_ May thought sadly. Meanwhile, on a nearby path, a boy was chasing a girl on a bike.

"Dawn, wait up!" Ash panted heavily, then stopped to to take a break. They girl stopped, then came back and sat beside the boy on the log.

"Come on, Ash! I want to catch some pokemon!" Dawn exclaimed happily.

"But, can't we do it after my gym battle?" Ash panted again.

"No." she replied sweetly and pecked him on the cheek.

"Fine. We'll catch you some pokemon, then the battle." Ash pumped his fist in the air, while Dawn clapped her hands together.

"Great! I heard this forest has lots of cute pokemon!" Dawn squealed, then jumped on her bike and pedalled off. Ash sighed, then followed her. When he caught up, he found her looking through the bushes.

"Dawn, you won't find pokemon by getting real close." Ash told her.

"Yes i will, I just need patience." she spread another bush, finding nothing. Then Ash heard a noise behind him, and turned around. He cautiously approached the bush, then a figure jumped out and knocked him over. He opened his eyes and saw a black-furred pokemon. It was in a defensive stance, with its tail sparking. It was a sparkling gold color, which amazed Ash.

"Wow! What pokemon is this?" Ash asked himself, pulling his poked out of his pocket. He held it up to the pokemon but the screen said 'NO DATA'. Dawn walked behind him and saw the screen.

"I don't think your pokedex is from the Sinnoh region, I'll try mine." Dawn said, pulling out her pink pokedex and holding it to the pokemon. The screen flashed, and a picture of a blue and black dog came up.

_Luxio, the spark pokemon._

_By gathering their tails together, they collectively generate powerful electricity from their claws._

"Amazing! I want to catch it!" Ash admired the shiny gold pokemon, but then he realized something was different. "Wait, the pokedex says Luxio are supposed to be blue and black. Why is this one gold?" Ash questioned.

"Maybe it's a special Luxio! And look, the electricity is coming from its tail, not its claws!" Dawn pointed out.

"You're right! That's it, go-" Ash raised a pokeball, but a flash came from behind him and a blue penguin appeared. Ash turned around to see Dawn smiling at him.,

"Can I have the first chance? Besides, we came out here because _I_ wanted to catch pokemon." Dawn gave him her puppy-dog look, and he sighed.

"Go ahead. But be careful, electric type attacks are strong against water-types like Piplup." Ash warned her, and she nodded to him.

"Okay Piplup, use peck!" Dawn commanded, followed by a squeal of excitement. The penguin charged at the luxe with a glowing beak, but the dog simply stepped to the side. Then it grinned, and electricity started sparking over its body.

"Be careful! It's using charge, which powers-up its next electric type attack!" Ash warned the novice. "_It wants to finish this in one hit!"_ Ash thought.

"Piplup, use bubblebeam, followed by peck!" Dawn told the penguin. It fired many bubbles at the dog, then its peck glowed and popped all the bubbles, releasing sparkles all over the dog. It shook off the sparkles, then saw the penguin had disappeared in the flash. It looked around calmly to find the penguin.

"Why isn't it scared? Oh well, bubblebeam!" Dawn commanded. An array of bubbles came from a nearby bush, which luxio dodged with a roll. Ash watched the pokemon's movements, and wondered how it would do in a gym battle. The luxe kept rolling until it was behind Piplup, then its tail started to crackle with electricity. Then it shouted its name, and fired a massive bolt at the penguin, which sustained serious damage. When the bolt stopped, the penguin was charred-black with swirly eyes. Dawn ran to the penguin's side, and returned it to its pokeball. The Luxio turned to Ash, and grinned at him as he got in a defensive stance.

"Do you want me to fight you?" Ash asked the pokemon. It gestured its paw for him to 'bring it on'. "Okay! Grovyle, I choose you!" Ash threw a pokeball and released the green gecko. It reached its hand into a bush and pulled out a twig, and put it in its mouth. Luxio charged towards the gecko.

"Ash, it's coming in with a tackle attack!" Dawn told the boy.

"Grovyle, dodge! Then use bullet seed!" Ash countered. The gecko jumped into the tree and disappeared, while Luxio looked around for the pokemon. Then seeds came shooting out of a spot, which Luxio dodged easily and gracefully as its fur glowed in the sunlight. The gecko darted out of the tree towards the pokemon. "Now, leaf blade!" Ash commanded. The leaves on its arms extended into a blade as Grovyle charged for luxio. Luxio grinned, and jumped into the air towards the gecko.

"Is it crazy?" Dawn shouted in disbelief at the pokemon's actions. Luxio's tail glowed white, then it spun around as the tail knocked the leaf blade away then struck Grovyle to the ground.

"What an amazing iron tail!" Ash admired the strength of his opponent. Then Luxio formed a heart in its claws, and shot it towards the weakened gecko. It came in contact, and grovel stared at the dog in admiration as it was infatuated.

"That means of Grovyle's male, then Luxio has to be female." Dawn stated.

"Grovyle, snap out of it and use bullet seed!" Ash shouted as he tried to wake up his pokemon, but came to no prevail. Luxio then began to crackle with electricity again. Then its tail glowed yellow, and fired a blast of electricity at the stunned gecko. It came in contact, then stopped to reveal the charred-black gecko with swirly eyes. Ash returned the pokemon, then pulled out another pokeball and released a red turtle.

"I'm not giving up easily! Torkoal, flamethrower!" Ash commanded to the turtle. It opened its mouth and fired massive flames towards the glittering pokemon. It rolled away from the flames and charged towards the turtle. "Iron defines, then flamethrower!" Ash countered. The turtle drew back into its shell as luxe crashed into the iron shell, then Torkoal drew its head back and releashed massive flames at close-range. the flames sent luxe soaring back, who managed to land safely.

"It's amazing!" Dawn admired the pokemon.

"It is, that's why I want it so badly! Overheat!" Ash shouted. The holes on Torkoal's shell began to glow red as lava burned p inside it. Then torkoal drew its head back, and released a massive attack on the electric dog. Luxio fired a bolt of electricity at it, and stopped the attack mid-air. Then the flames pushed through and sent Luxio crashing into the tree. "Go, pokeball!" Ash threw a pokeball and watched as Luxio disappeared inside. It shook back and forth two times, then luxio popped out and grinned at Ash.

"Impossible! How can it keep going?" Dawn asked.

"Torkoal, body slam!" Ash ordered, then Torkoal jumped into the air above luxe and charged down. Luxio got on its back and caught Torkoal as it came down. Then its fangs glowed yellow, and sank them into Torkoal's side. Torkoal rolled off of Luxio with swirly eyes. Ash called back his pokemon and drew back his arm as he held a pokeball, but then a flash came from his belt and the dancing pokemon appeared. "Snorunt? Alright then, icy wind!" Ash told his pokemon. Snorunt stopped dancing and blew an icy breeze at the dog. Luxio stood there and took it, as it grinned at Ash.

"Man, she's amazing!" Dawn commented the golden pokemon.

"Alright, Snorunt. I know it's risky, but we have to…Ice beam!" Ash commanded. Snorunt focused its energy into a sphere, and fired the beam towards Luxio. Then it leaned ti the side, and struck Luxio's leg, instead of its original target. "Good job, Snorunt! Now, headbutt, to the max!" Ash commanded. Snorunt ran towards the pokemon who was frozen to the ground, and crashed its head into Luxio's side. It slammed into a tree again, then Ash threw the pokeball and watched as luxe disappeared in the enveloping light. It shook back and forth three times, then shiny particles cme off the pokeball as it stopped moving. Ash smiled, and picked up the pokeball.

"Alright! I got…a Luxio!" Ash did a pose, and Snorunt danced on his head. Dawn giggled, then walked beside him.

"good going. I knew you could do it." Dawn kissed him on the cheek, making him blush.

"Thanks Dawn, now let's go back to the pokemon center." Ash said. The couple walked/biked into the building, and placed their pokeballs on a tray.

"Can you check out our pokemon, Nurse Joy?" Dawn asked the receptionist.

"Of course. That's what I'm here for." she winked at them, and placed the trays into a machine behind her. She pressed some buttons, then gasped as she looked at Ash's tray.

"What's wrong?" Ash asked.

"Oh my…! Did you catch this Luxio in the forest?" Nurse Joy asked him, covering her mouth with her hands.

"Yes, he did. Why?" Dawn asked her.

"This Luxio has lived in the forest for a long time. No trainer has ever been able to beat it, which is why so many trainers come to this town. They want to defeat this Luxio. You must be an amazing trainer if you were able to capture it." Nurse Joy stated.

"Well, it wasn't easy…" Ash said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. Dawn giggled, and watched as Nurse Joy pressed more buttons, then she smiled at the kids.

"Your pokemon are fine now., come again." Nurse Joy cheered happily as she handed the trays back.

"Thank you." they both replied, then exited the building. Ash pulled out Luxio's pokeball and stared at it.

"Do you want to have your gym battle now?" Dawn asked him.

"No, let's go back to the forest and find more pokemon." Ash said, and ran in the direction of the trees. Dawn sighed, then pedalled after him. Not far off, a certain Pikachu perked up its ears.

"What is it, Pikachu?" Max asked the mouse. Pikachu darted into the trees.

"Pikachu!" Brock shouted as he ran after it. Max, Brock, and a depressed May were calling for Pikachu.

"_I should tell them now._" May thought. "Hey, guys, there's something I need to tell you…-" she started, but was cut off by a thunderbolt in the distance. They looked at each other, then heard a scream.

"MY BIKE! IT'S EXTRA CRISPY!"

They heard the loud scream ring through their ears, and ran towards the source. When they came to a small clearing, they saw Pikachu licking the face of a boy on the ground. While a confused Luxio looked at the scene. They looked over to se a blunette rubbing her bike, which was fried to a crisp.

"Help me! Get it off! What is it?" Ash shouted as Pikachu continued licking his face. Dawn helped him up, while letting Pikachu fall to the ground. It quickly recovered and jumped on Ash's shoulders, and licked his face more. Dawn giggled as Pikachu licked Ash, then noted the three people watching them. She saw May, then got starry-eyed.

"Hoenn princess May! Good to see you again!" Dawn waved to the girl a few feet away.

"_Again?_" Brock looked at May.

"She must have always followed Ash, then that must mean-" Max started angrily, but was cut off by the familiar voice.

"Miss May!" Ash called. The couple walked over to the group, while Pikachu nuzzled into Ash's neck. "Good to see you again, May." Ash continued, making May begin to sob. She quickly covered her face.

"Go on, May. Say you're sorry." Max muttered angrily as he nudged May's back.

"You don't have to apologize for anything, I didn't understand why you did the first time." Ash said, making Brock look at May.

"The _first time?" _He asked angrily.

"I was going to tell you! I swear!" May defended herself.

"Why are you two angry at this famous coordinator?" Dawn asked.

"No reason. Come on, Ash, let's go to our camp." Max dragged the boy towards their camp, followed by the others and Luxio. They all sat around the campfire, as Max stared at luxio.

"Is that a golden Luxio? That must have been hard to catch, Ash." Max commented.

"It was difficult. So, are you a fan…Max, is it?" Ash asked, making Brock and Max look at him with a confused expression. May just sulked as she began to sob again.

"What do you mean?… You don't remember us?" Brock asked.

"Why do you three think I know you?" Ash asked as he pointed to Max, Brock and May.

"But, Ash! We've travelled through Hoenn together! You left because of…" Max started, but stopped as May smacked him in the head.

"Don't you dare tell him why!" May threatened her brother angrily.

"Why, what happened?" Ash asked as he looked at the girl.

"Nothing, nothing at all." she panicked as he stared at her.

"Are you _sure _you're friends with Ash? If he knew you, he would remember you." Dawn said, staring closely at the two boys.

"It's okay, Dawn. Well, we should get going now." Ash said, then stood up and walked into the trees followed by Dawn.

"What…just happened?" Brock asked, trying to recount the events that just occurred. May ran after the two, then caught up to Ash without Dawn.

"Ash!" May called to him as she ran beside him.

"Yes, May?" he asked politely.

"How can you not remember me?" she sake after she caught her breath.

"I don't know. Because I've never met you before." Ash said.

"But…" she started to cry again, but Ash wiped her tear away.

"Don't be sad. I may know you from before, but I just don't remember." Ash told her. She stared into his auburn eyes, and placed her hand on his cheek.

"Remember, please…" she pleaded, then Ash felt something surge through his body.

"Uh…I have to go." he gently took her hand off and ran away, leaving the crying girl alone. When Ash got a distance away from her, he put his hand where she touched her. "What was that? I've never felt that before…" Ash said to himself, trying to think of what happened to him. He walked back to the pokemon centre, and found Dawn.

"I knew it! I knew you'd come here!" Dawn said as she hugged him. When she let go, she pecked him on the cheek.

"Do we have a room?" Ash asked her, then Dawn pulled out a key and dangled it in his sight. He smiled, and walked inside. They got in their room, and Dawn collapsed on the bed as Ash went in the bathroom to change. He came out in just pajama bottoms, and switched places with Dawn. Dawn came out wearing pink pyjamas, and stared at the two beds.

"Ash…?" she trailed off. Ash looked at the beds, then back at her.

"Dawn, I don't think you should yet…" Ash told her, making her frown. He got up and kissed her on the lips, which perked her up.

"Okay. I call this one!" she jumped on the bed as she watched Ash walk over to the other. They both slid under the covers, said good nit to each other, then turned out the lights and went to sleep. At the camp…

"How does he not remember us?" Max questioned as he rolled his sleeping bag out.

"We'll catch him in the morning before his gym battle, when we're refreshed." Brock said as he slid into the bag. Everyone went to sleep, and then all five humans were asleep. Well…except for two.

"_Ash…"_ May thought sadly as she turned in her sleeping bag.

"_May…"_ Ash thought as he turned in his bed, holding his hand on the spot where she'd touched him.

**END**


	8. Wins, Deep Bonding, and Captures

**Wins, Deep Bonding and Captures**

The day had finally come. Ash and Dawn stood outside the doors of the rock-covered building, and Ash was beaming with excitement. Ash rushed in, followed by Dawn with a box. Ash demanded a gym battle to the receptionist inside the door, and he pressed a few buttons on his computer.

"Alright, Ash. Today's your lucky day because Roark's schedule is clear today, so you can have the gym battle right away." the receptionist man smiled at him, making Ash even happier.

"Wow! Thanks!" Ash was about to burst with excitement.

"Right through those doors are the battlefield, go right ahead. I've contacted the gym leader of your challenge, and he's ready right now." the man told Ash.

"Thank you so much!" Ash beamed as he ran through the doors, he turned back to see the receptionist pointing down a hallway, and Dawn going in that direction. When Ash turned again, he saw the huge field covered in rocks. He looked all over the stadium, then to the man on the other side of the battlefield. He looked to be in his 20s and had a mining hat on.

"Alright, challenger Ash. I'm Roark, the Oreburgh gym leader. Shall we begin our 2-2 battle right away?" the man asked, but Ash looked to the stands and saw no one.

"Well, there is someone-" Ash stopped as he heard a voice behind him.

"Yes, he will." came the cheerful voice Ash recognized. He turned around to see Dawn, but in a pink cheerleading outfit with pink pompoms. "What do you think?" Dawn twirled and did a pose for Ash, making him smile.

"Amazing." Ash replied. Dawn blushed, and ran to the stands. She called out Piplup, who started cheering. Ash smiled, then took his place in the trainer box.

"Alright. Onix, let's start things off!" Roark called as he tossed his pokeball, releasing the large rock-snake pokemon.

"Rock and ground type, okay! Grovyle, you're up!" Ash tossed his pokeball and released the green gecko.

"Smart choice by using a grass type. But I'm afraid it won't be that easy." Roark told Ash.

"I wouldn't expect it to be." Ash grinned. Dawn started cheering for Grovyle, but three figures appeared at the doorway. They rushed in and sat beside Dawn, taking her attention to who they were.

"Miss May! And Max and Brock, too! Why are you three here?" Dawn greeted the three.

"We wanted to see our old friend earn his first gym badge." Max said. Pikachu added a happy cheer from his shoulder.

"We _are_ old friends, so we want to travel with you guys and try to recover his memory." Brock told the blunette.

"Okay, it would be great for you to come with us!" Dawn said cheerfully. May's expression turned sad/serious, and looked back at Ash.

"Onix, earthquake!" the rock-snake slammed its tail on the ground and shook the whole field. Grovyle struggled to keep balance.

"Grovyle, jump on Onix!" the gecko jumped off the ground, and landed on the rock-type's head. "Bullet seed!" Ash commanded.

"Shake it off, quick!" Roark countered. Onix shook back and forth, trying to shake the gecko off. But Grovyle held on, and fired super-effective seeds at the snake's head, making it fall to the ground.

"Alright, Leaf blade!" Ash ordered, watching the leaves on his pokemon's arms grow long and green-glowing.

"Rock polish, then slam!" Roark countered. Onix suddenly glowed a shiny white, then disappeared from beneath Grovyle, making it fall to the ground. Then it reappeared, and slammed its tail onto the gecko.

"Grovyle!" Ash called. When the dust cleared, it showed Grovyle struggling to get up. "That's it, Grovyle! Now, use leaf blade again!" Ash commanded.

"Double edge!" Roark ordered. The gecko got up, and its leaves extended into blades. Onix glowed bright yellow, and charged its head for Grovyle. The gecko simply jumped and was in mid-air above the snake's head. Grovyle pushed the blades into Onix's head, slamming it into the ground. When the dust cleared, Onix had swirly eyes and Grovyle was standing on its head.

"Onix is unable to battle, so this match goes to Grovyle!" the referee raised his left arm, which made everyone but two people cheer. Roark called back his pokemon and grabbed another pokeball.

"That was just a warm-up, Ash. Cranidos, time to rock!" Roark tossed his pokeball and released the small dinosaur.

"Grovyle, let's finish this with bullet seed!" Ash said confidently.

"Big mistake, Ash. Cranidos, zen headbutt!" Roark called to the dinosaur. Its large forehead glowed blue, then he charged towards the gecko. Grovyle fired an array of seeds at the pokemon, but Cranidos pushed right through.

"Quick, jump!" Ash defended. Grovyle jumped and dodged the attack, making Roark grin.

"Flamethrower!" he called, making everyone gasp. Cranidos fired massive flames at the defenseless gecko, which pushed it into the roof. When the gecko fell and the dust cleared, he had swirly eyes.

"Grovyle is unable to battle, which means this round goes to Cranidos!" the referee raised his right arm, making the dinosaur shout its name in victory. Ash returned the gecko, and smiled as he pulled out another pokeball.

"Roark, you won't know what hit you after this." Ash told the gym leader, making him smile.

"I hope so." Roark replied. Ash grinned as he tossed the pokeball. May, Max and Brock would have thought it would be Corphish, but to their surprise, it was far from it. The pokeball opened and a flash of golden stars came out, followed by a red light. The red light formed into a dog, and the glittering stars covered it as it took colour and form. On the field, they saw the same golden Luxio from the day prior.

"What? He's using an electric-type?" Max asked in disbelief. Roark also looked confused.

"Don't underestimate its power." Dawn smiled at the group as she pointed to the golden dog.

"Well, well, Ash. You've surprised me with your choice." Roark told the boy.

"It may not look good for me, but you'll be surprised at how much power this Luxio can punch." Ash said confidently, making Luxio pose and shout its name.

"Okay. Cranidos, use flamethrower!" Roark commanded.

"Push back with thunderbolt!" Ash countered. The two pokemon fired their flames and electricity that collided in the middle, but the electricity pushed through the flames and came in contact with Cranidos. It grinned as it withstood the attack, then closed its eye and cringed.

"No way…!" Roark was amazed how his rock-type was weakened by the electricity.

"Yes way! Use Iron tail!" Ash grinned again. Luxio charged towards the fossil, who still remained fazed from the sparks coming off its body. Luxio's tail glowed white, then the dog spun and slammed its tail into Cranidos' jaw, sending it into the wall.

"This is more challenging than I thought. Cranidos, zen headbutt!" Roark was beginning to enjoy the battle. Cranidos shook its heda, then charged with the glowing forehead from earlier.

"Perfect, just stay there, Luxio." Ash said calmly, earning an agreeing growl from his pokemon. The fossil pokemon drew closer as Ash waited for his moment.

"What's he doing? That's going to hurt Luxio!" Max stood up as he watched Ash's crazy idea.

"Not if it's Ash we're talking about." Brock said.

"Yeah, only my Ashy will think of something good this quick." Dawn stated happily, earning a strange look from Brock and Max. May wiped a tear forming in her eye. As Cranidos was a few feet away from Luxio, Ash finally spoke.

"Send it flying, and follow with Attract." Ash said calmly, pointing his arm straight up. Luxio grinned, then jumped on its back and lay flat on the ground. Cranidos didn't see this coming as he walked on Luxio's paws that were formed in the shape of springs on its chest. Then Luxio pushed its paws into the air, sending Cranidos soaring. Luxio winked its eye and sent a heart towards the flying cranidos. It contacted and made Cranidos get heart-eyed over Luxio.

"What? It's female?" Roark asked himself.

"Now, thunder fang!" Ash commanded. Luxio grinned, then jump up above Cranidos at a surprising speed. Its fangs emanated sparks as it sank into Cranidos' body, making it yell in pain. "Finale time, iron tail!" Ash commanded after. Luxio let go, then slammed the white-glowing tail into Cranidos' tiny body, sending it to the ground. Cranidos crashed into the ground, then Luxio landed gracefully beside the crash-sight. The dust cleared and revealed the weak Cranidos, struggling to get up.

"You've got a strong pokemon, Roark." Ash commented the gym leader.

"Yes, I do. But I think we're done here." Roark said as he crouched beside the weak fossil pokemon. Cranidos smiled weakly at its trainer, as Roark nodded at the referee.

"The gym leader, Roark, has forfeit. So the gym match goes to the challenger, Ash Ketchum!" the referee raised his left arm, making everyone but him and Roark cheer. Ash smiled as he crouched beside Luxio.

"Thanks, Luxio. You're really strong." Ash smiled, making Luxio nod and wink at him. When Ash stood, he saw his friends walking towards him. Except for Dawn, who was already pulling him into a kiss. Brock and Max gasped loudly as they watched what she did, while May wiped a tear and looked away. When Dawn broke, she smiled at Ash.

"I knew you could do it." she smiled sweetly at him.

"I knew, too." Ash replied. He looked at the three humans behind her, ho were either staring with wide eyes, or looking away.

"Hey, miss May, Brock and Max! Good to see you again! I didn't know you came to watch my battle." Ash said as he walked over to the three.

"Uh…" was all Max could fumble out after watching Dawn's actions. Brock just stared, while May still didn't look. Then Brock hook his head and put a hand on Ash's shoulder.

"So you finally found someone." Brock whispered to him.

"Yeah." Ash replied, then looked at May…well, the back of her head.

"Miss May? Is something wrong?" Ash asked.

"No. Congratulations on winning." May said as she slowly turned her head. She stared into his auburn eyes, then blushed faintly. Dawn noticed this, and grumbled quietly.

"Ash, your Luxio is amazing!" Max looked at the electric dog, who was now posing proudly.

"Of course she is." Ash started to et her golden fur, making her growl in happiness. Roark pulled something from inside his coat, and walked beside Ash.

"Ash, on behalf of your amazing victory at the Oreburgh gym, I present you with this coal badge." Roark said as he he'd out his hand containing the badge. Ash gazed at the badge, and took it as Roark nodded to him. He pulled something else from his back pocket, and handed it to Ash. "Also, take this badge case as a gift from me." Roark smiled at him. Ash smiled, and took the case, then placed the badge inside the slot. Everyone smiled, then the group of five left the building.

"Oh, Ash. I forgot to tell you inside, but these three want to travel with us." Dawn said, pointing to the group.

"Really? Okay, that would be great!" Ash smiled, making the other three smile with him. The five went to the pokemon centre, where Ash handed two pokeballs to Nurse Joy on a tray. She pressed some buttons on the machine, and told Ash they need a good night's sleep. He nodded, and pulled out the key from his jacket. Brock got on one knee and looked at Nurse Joy.

"Oh, loveliest of Nurse Joys! Come with me, and we'll ride the rock road of love for all of-" Brock stopped as he fell over. The others alarmingly lifted him up, and noticed something in his side.

"Looks like somebody got you with poison sting, Brock." Max said, looking at the small purple needle in brock's side. He carefully pulled it out, then looked outside. He only saw a blue blur disappear around the corner.

"Does he do this a lot?" Dawn whispered to May, pointing down at Brock.

"I'm afraid so." May whispered back, then looked at Ash.

"May, can I talk to you in private?" Dawn whispered. May looked at the boys helping Brock up, and walked outside with Dawn.

"Is there a reason you're always staring at Ash?" Dawn asked, making May blush.

"W-what?" May stuttered, taken back from Dawn's sudden question.

"I just want to know why you're always staring at him." Dawn said, making May blush deeper.

"Well…I…" May pushed the tips of her two index fingers together and looked down.

"Look, Miss May. He's in a relationship with me. And I don't want you making any moves on him, that's all." Dawn said, making May look back up at her.

"Of course. You're my friend now, Dawn. I wouldn't want to hurt your feelings." May said, making Dawn smile.

"Okay! Let's join the others again." Dawn said cheerfully, walking back inside. They saw Max taking a key from Nurse Joy, and Ash helping Brock stand. They walked down the hallway, then Brock and Max stopped in front of their door.

"We're going to get some rest." Max said, as he pushed Brock into the room and close the door. The three in the hall looked confused, then Ash shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay. Let's go for a walk or something." Ash suggested.

"Let's look for pokemon!" Dawn cheered, making Ash sigh, while May watched the two. They went back to the forest from the other day, and Dawn looked around in the bushes.

"Don't you remember what I told you yesterday?" Ash asked.

"What?" Dawn asked as she looked back at him. May noticed something in the bush beside her, and walked closer. She spread the bush open, and found a vulpix.

"It's so cute!" May squealed, as she extended an arm towards it. It growled at her hand and tried to stand up, but fell over.

"What's up, May?" Ash asked as he walked closer, then saw the fox pokemon. He looked closer, then saw vulpix try to stand and fall again.

"I think it's injured, we should get it to the pokemon centre." May said, replied by Ash nodding to her. May tried to pick her up, but she fell over again as she tried to run away.

"I don't think this Vulpix likes humans, May. We have to get the pokemon to explain that we're only trying to help." Ash said, making May nod. She released her beautifully, who landed beside the fox and began talking with it in their foreign language. Vulpix nodded after a small talk with beautifully, then looked at May with caring eyes. May looked at Ash, who nodded to her. May tried to pick up Vulpix again, who accepted her hands. May held the Vulpix in her arms, and felt as Vulpix nuzzled its face into her chest. The two walked back to the centre, after Dawn told them she wanted to look some more. Nurse Joy took the fox and gently placed her on a machine. She pushed some buttons, then the bottom flashed a couple of times and photos appeared on the screen above. Ash and May recognized them as x-ray photos.

"Vulpix is fine, just a sprained ankle. If it spends the night here, it'll be healed up in the morning." Nurse Joy said cheerfully.

"Thank you so much." May said as she looked at the fox, who was smiling back at her. Ash watched as May looked at the fox, and smiled as he saw how much she cared for it.

"Come on, we shouldn't leave Dawn out there alone for too long." Ash said, heading for the door. When they got back to the forest, they saw the sun starting to disappear over the distant hill.

"It's almost nighttime. Let's get Dawn and head back to the pokemon centre for the night." May said. They nodded, then heard footsteps from up ahead. They saw Dawn running happily, as she carried a pokeball in the air.

"I did it! I caught my first pokemon!" Dawn squealed as she stopped in front of the two.

"What kind is it?" May asked intriguingly. Dawn was about to answer, when a drop of water fell on her nose. She looked at the sky, and saw it started to rain. They ran back to the centre, and were soaking wet when they got inside.

"I'm going to have a shower and go to bed. Good night, May." Dawn said as she hurried down the hall. Ash and may walked to their rooms, and stopped in front of May's door.

"Well…I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then." Ash stared into May's sapphire eyes.

"Yeah…Good night, Ash." she said in a sweet and quiet voice, then kissed him on the cheek and close the door behind her. Ash touched his cheek as he opened his door, then closed it behind him.

Ash pulled off his shirt and fell asleep right away as he slipped under the covers.

May changed into her Torchic pajamas, and slipped under her covers. She touched her lips, then let a tear escape her eye before she drifted into slumber.

Dawn slipped in her bed and fell asleep.

Downstairs, Vulpix was curled in a bed thinking of a sweet coordinator she met that day, and a decision she made that night.

**END**


	9. Pokepals, Old and New

**PokePals, Old And New**

(Ash's POV)

I woke up by a bright light. I open my eyes to see someone had opened the curtains completely, letting the sun cover the entire room. I stretched my body, then let out a yawn. I heard some water running, and figured it was Dawn in the shower. I got out of bed, put on a clean pair of pants and shirt, then stepped out of the room. I walked down the hall, then heard another door open. I looked back to see Miss May, yawning and trying to tie her bandana on. Pikachu was on her shoulder, trying to help. But I could tell his paws were a bit too small.

"Here, I'll help you." I said, which startled her. When she saw it was me, she smiled.

"Oh, good morning, Ash." she smiled at me, which made me feel a tingle down my spine. I took the bandana from her and wrapped it around her head. I began to tie the knot at the side, then I saw her staring at me.

"What is it, May?" I asked her.

"It's just...you were so nice to me...and you still are...even though you-" I knew what she was going to say, so I put my finger on her lips to stop her.

"It's okay, May. We all forget something sometime, it's just I seem to have forgotten something big. Now, let's finish this knot..." I continued with the bandana, and even though I wasn't looking at her, I could tell she was staring and smiling at me. When I was done, I stepped back and flashed her a thumbs-up. She reached around to her fannypack and pulled out a hand mirror. She looked into it, then adjusted her hair a bit. I sweatdropped at her craze over her hair.

"Wow, Ash! You did amazing!" she suddenly hugged me, startling me a bit. I smelled her hair, which had the scent of strawberries. I enjoyed it, so I slowly wrapped my arms around her back. When she pulled back, I saw her stretch on her tip-toes, so she was a little taller than me. She softly pressed her lips against my cheek, just like in the forest, making me feel that tingle again. When she pulled back, she smiled sweetly at me. "I really missed you, and you might be tired of hearing this, but I'm so sorry for what I did." I saw a tear begin to form in her eye, so I wiped it away with my finger.

"May, you don't have to be. I don't remember why, so you're the only one who knows. Just push it to the back of your mind and it will eventually disappear." I said, not quite understanding myself completely. Pikachu nodded. May giggled as he rubbed his cheek against hers. When Pikachu looked at her, he looked at me. He looked at May again, then began making faces I couldn't see, but May was turning into a tomato berry.

"Are you okay, May? You just got red all of a sudden." I rubbed my hand on her cheek, making her go an even deeper shade of red.

"No, Ash. It's just that..." she trailer off as we both heard a door opening. We looked back to see Brock and Max stepping out of their room, then they saw us.

"Are we interrupting something?" Max smiled as he pushed his glasses up, revealing a white glare of sunlight. I hadn't realized it, but the scene was pretty suspicious. I had my hand against her cheek, and sometime when I hadn't noticed, May was for some reason holding my hand. I looked at May, then quickly retracted my hands.

"Nothing. You're not interrupting anything." I said, noticing a small frown form on May's face. Then we heard another door, and saw Dawn stepping out while stroking her fingers through her hair. When she noticed us, she immediately ran beside me.

"Good morning, everyone!" she cheered happily, everyone replied with a simple 'good morning'. She pecked me on the cheek, then looked at everyone. "Since everyone's up and ready, let's go!" she began skipping down the hall, leaving us in the dust.

"She's even more energetic than you, Ash." Brock chuckled, and soon I joined in too. We began walking down the hall, chasing after my energetic girlfriend. But something was on my mind. What I said to May before. If you push a memory to the back of your head, it'll go away...is that what happened with me and May?

(May's POV)

Dammit, guys! Why did you have to come out now, of all times! Now we're walking down the hall, chasing after Ash's _girlfriend._ I hate that word, unless it's me or a destined couple of true love. When we stepped outside, the light enveloped us. We covered our eyes, not noticing the woman chasing us out the door.

"Wait!" she called, making us turn around. Right on cue, Brock stepped in.

"Oh, loveliest of Nurse Joys! The light of love is shining bright on us! We must take the stairway into the bright sky and share our love for all of eternit-" then he groaned in pain as he fell over. We looked at Max, but he was holding his arms out defensively, plus quite a few feet away. We looked back at Brock, then noticed something in his side.

"Hey, Brock, seems the poison-stinger got you again." Ash gently tugged the purple needle out of his side, making him yelp. We all looked around, then I noticed something blue step around the corner. I couldn't quite make out what it was, due to the harsh sunlight.

"Um...anyway, the young vulpix you brought in the other day has made a full recovery. She's up and running again!" the young lady said in a cheerful tone, pointing in the doors. We looked in to see the vulpix playing with a ball.

"That's great!" I heard Ash say.

"If you want, you can come play with it. Since it seems to be wild, I don't see any harm in playing." Nurse Joy stepped through the doors. I looked at the others, then I stepped inside. I saw Nurse Joy walk behind the desk and lean on the counter.

"What do you think happened to it?" I asked her.

"I think she was just in a rough battle. The young girl is all better now, so there's nothing to worry about. Probably got in a scrape with that golden Luxio." Nurse Joy said, glancing over at Ash. I bent down on my knees, then the vulpix noticed hopped over to me and jumped in my arms, clearly happy to see me.

"It's good to see you feeling better, Vulpix." I stroked its fur as it continuously cheered its name happily. When she jumped out of my arms, she ran around the counter. I looked at Nurse Joy, who was looking down and smiling.

"She's getting a toy. She clearly likes you." Nurse Joy said, then I saw Vulpix run back with a small piece of rope. She held one end in her mouth, then placed the other on my lap.

"Do you want to play tug-of-war?" I asked it, making it nod its head rapidly. I took the other end, then tugged lightly. But Vulpix fought back stronger than I thought, and tugged it right out of my hands. It hopped up and down excitedly, knowing it won. "I was just going easy on you." I told it as I took the end again. I tugged the rope, and fought around with Vulpix. after a couple of minutes, Vulpix collapsed on its side, alarming me. I sprang up and looked at Nurse Joy.

"Don't worry. You must have tired her out. She'll be awake and jumping in no time." the woman smiled at me, making me feel a lot better. I turned to see Max, Ash and Dawn crouching down near Vulpix.

"It's so cute!" Dawn whispered as she began to stroke its fur.

"Yeah. It's stronger than May, too. Surprising for its size." Ash chuckled, making me feel insulted.

"Hey, Watch what you say." I whispered harshly, then saw Dawn stop stroking and Max started.

"This would be a great pokemon to battle with." Max said as it watched vulpix's chest rise and drop. I watched the young fox, and smiled. I saw Vulpix's eyes begin to open, then she looked at the others with sleepy eyes.

"She's awake. Don't alarm her." Ash whispered. The others nodded, then slowly crawled away from the young pokemon. I crouched down beside her again, but noticed Ash hadn't moved. "She's cute, isn't she?" he looked at me.

"Yeah...she's adorable. Natural for a baby." I whispered, then Vulpix looked at me. She looked at Ash, then rrubbed her head under his hand. He began rubbing her head, making her happy.

"I wish I could catch it...but I already have six pokemon..." Ash said as he stroked Vulpix's fur. I smiled at him, seemingly making him happy. I knew Dawn was a lucky girl. I knew a girl like her would be this lucky...someday.

(Max's POV)

Oh my gosh, a wild vulpix in Sinnoh! I've never heard of it before! I thought it was abandoned by its trainer, but thought...who could abandon such an adorable pokemon?

"I think we should head out now." I heard the Dawn girl say, I noticed her glancing at May then Ash, May then Ash. I figured she was jealous May was so close to him, also noticing the slight frown her lips were making.

"I agree." I said, making the others look up.

"Awww, can't we stay a little longer?" May whined, making me think of all the years I managed with this.

"I actually think so, too. Plus, we should return Vulpix to the wild." Ash looked at the happy fox.

"...Okay..." I could tell May was sad, maybe from two reasons. One, the bonding with Ash. And two, the seperation from Vulpix. I frowned as we stepped outside, then I remembered something.

"Hey...where's Brock?" I looked at the others. They looked at each other, then began calling out for him. May was holding Vulpix in her arms, but everyone else cupped their hands around their mouths. Then, we heard a noise. We listened for it, then noticed it was coming from the nearby alley...

(Brock's POV)

Oooh...what...what happened? I remember...expressing my love to Nurse Joy...ah, lovely Nurse Joy...then felt a sting. I fell over...then it all faded away. I slowly opened my eyes, only to see green balls. I looked around, and noticed it was trash bags. I was in the alley full of garbage. I held my hand over my nose and rushed out. I took a deep breath once I was out of the alley, then noticed a group coming towards me. I recognized it as my group of friends.

"Hey, Brock! There you are!" Max called as they got closer.

"Yeah...how'd you get there?" Dawn tapped her chin on her finger.

"I remember...Nurse Joy...pain...then I felt myself being dragged..." I tried to remember the events.

"Who...or what...would drag you?" Ash asked. We all began to think, but no one came with anything.

"Well, anyway...I think we should head out now." Dawn smiled.

"Okay!" Ash stretched his leg, then stopped. He looked back at us. "...Where are we going?" he asked, making everyone sweatdrop. I, seen as the only one with map experience, pulled out the guide book I picked up at Canalave Port. I flipped through the pages until I found the small map.

"According to this...the closest town...with a gym..." I glanced at Ash and saw he was smiling. "Is...Eterna City!" I pointed at the small dot.

"Okay! We're off to Eterna City!" Ash began walking in a random direction.

"Um...Ash?" he looked back at me. "Eterna City is this way." I pointed down a path, with a sign clearly stating 'Eterna City'. He rubbed the back of his head, then began down the path.

"Wait! We have to return Vulpix to the forest!" May suddenly said. We all looked at the fox, then nodded. We walked to the forest, then stopped at the spot where May found it.

"Alright, set it on the ground." I told her. She crouched down, then placed Vulpix on the ground.

"Alright, Vulpix. You're home now...we have to go..." May whispered to the fox, who only began licking her face.

"Come on, May. It will be harder if it's prolonged." I saw Ash place his hand on her shoulder. May wiped a tear away, then stood up.

"Okay, Ash. Let's go." she said, clearly not wanting to leave the fox. When we started walking, Vulpix began to call its name. We looked back to see Vulpix not moving, but only extending a paw in front of it.

"Vulpix...goodbye..." May called to it, then turned around. Vulpix let a tear out, then began running. I watched as it ran for May, who had her back turned. Everyone watched the fox hop on May's fannypack, then use its mouth to open the zipper.

"What is she doing?" Max asked us, but no one had a clue. Except for me, that is. I had a good idea of what it was going for. It reached its head in the bag, and began rummaging through May's stuff. We saw the mirror fall out, which May caught. We saw the hairbrush fall out, also caught. Then we saw a pokeball fall out, then Vulpix jumped on the ground. It sat beside the ball, then looked at May.

"W-What are you doing?" May was surprised. But by now, everyone knew what Vulpix wanted. The fox smiled, then put its paw on the ball, disappearing in a red flash. The ball began rolling a few times, but stopped as shiny particles came off it into the air. Everyone stared at the ball, then May picked it up.

"Wow, May! You caught Vulpix!...Or, should I say...Vulpix caught itself." Max began laughing, soon joined by Ash and I. Dawn smiled as she hugged May, happy her friend caught a new pokemon. May, however, was still shocked.

"Let's go to Eterna City now!" Ash pumped his fist in the air, I knew he still hadn't changed his habits. We walked back to the path outside the pokemon center, then started for the town.

(Normal POV)

The group had stopped for lunch a few hours after the capture of Vulpix, May's new pokemon.

"Dinner's ready!" Brock called, making everyone look up.

"Alright, come on out everyone!" May tossed her six pokeballs in the air, releasing Bulbasaur, Combusken, Beautifly, Skitty, Munchlax and Vulpix.

"We won't forget you two!" Brock tossed his two pokeballs in the air, releasing Mudkip and Foretress.

"And last but not least, you guys!" Ash called as the five balls soared into the air. The lights revealed Torkoal, Swellow, Corphish, Snorunt and Grovyle. "Now...time for your appearance." Ash whispered to the pokeball in his hand, before he released it. The ball opened, revealing golden stars. When the stars faded, the golden luxio stood proudly. Ash's pokemon glared at it, remembering how it defeated them. Except Snorunt, who was busy dancing. May's pokemon looked at Vulpix curiosly, not remembering her before.

"I won't foget you two!" Dawn tossed her pokeballs in the air, releasing Piplup and her new pokemon. It was small and pink, with four long leaves coming from its head.

"Wow! A hoppip!" Ash exclaimed, looking at Dawn's first new pokemon. Then May noticed her pokemon staring at Vulpix.

"Oh, right. Everyone, this is Vulpix. She's going to travel with us." May crouched beside Vulpix and stroked its fur.

"And this is Luxio, another new addition to the group." Ash stroked Luxio's fur, making it growl happily. All the pokemon got acquainted (or re-acquainted, in the Hoenn pokemon's case) as they ate the pokechow, and the humans ate at the table.

"So, May, how are you doing as a coordinator?" Dawn asked her.

"Good. I just came top 8 in the hoenn grand festival." May replied.

"That's great!" Ash smiled at her. she looked at him, then smiled.

"_How can he be so happy? He didn't watch me. He probably didn't care...but then again...maybe he already lost his memory. I guess I shouldn't be so hard on him..." _May thought to herself as she ate her lunch. When everyone was finished, Ash stood up and collected the plates.

"What? You're helping?" Max stared at Ash with wide eyes.

"Yes. I always enjoy helping with dishes." Ash smiled, then walked towards the bucket of water. The others exchanged strange expressions, then looked at Dawn.

"...What? Do you think I did something to him?" she asked innocently.

"No, not quite. We're just wondering...how did you two meet?" Brock crossed his arms on the table.

"Um...it's kind of an embarassing story..." Dawn rubbed the back of her head.

"Well, you can tell us whenever you feel is right." May smiled. She stood up and crouched beside her pokemon. "Is the food good, Vulpix?" she looked at the fox, who was excitedly devouring the bowl of food. May giggled, then stroked her fur. "You're going to be in a contest someday, and I know you'll do great." May stood up and walked towards Ash. She stood beside him and put her head close to his ear.

"Hey, Ash?" the boy looked at her.

"What is it, May?" Ash asked her.

"Can I talk to you after you're done here?" she whispered.

"Sure. What about?" he tilted his head.

"Something important." she replied, then walked away. The boy was confused, but continued the dishes until they were done. When he went back to May, she was sitting, cross-legged, Vulpix on her legs, and was listening to her pokedex.

_Vulpix. The fox pokemon._

_Inside Vulpix's body burns a flame that never goes out. Duriing the daytime, when the temperature rises, this pokemon releases flames from its mouth to prevent its body from growing too hot._

"Interesting..." she said to herself as she pushed some buttons.

_Vulpix's attacks are; Flamethrower, Dig, Swift, Heat Wave._

"Oh, wow! You're a strong vulpix!" May told the fox as she stroked its fur. Ash smiled, then sat beside her.

"So. What is it you wanted to talk about?" Ash asked her.

"...Actually, I changed my mind. I'm going to train with Vulpix." May said with a sweet smile. Ash was confused, but smiled back nonetheless. May stood up and ran into the forest, with Vulpix jogging beside her.

"Those two will make a great team..." Ash whispered to himself, then saw something in the side of his eye. A large yellow bolt. Ash rushed into a clearing to see Pikachu and Luxio, facing each other. "What's going on?" Ash asked the electric-types.

"_Pika pika pi, pikachu-pi!" (I'm your pokemon, Ash! I was your first!)_ Pikachu said in its native tongue. Luxio turned its head to the side.

_"Luxio lux, lux luxio." (I think he would remember if you belonged to him. Besides, he's already got six pokemon.) _Luxio said in pokemon language. Pikachu fired a bolt at Luxio, but she only dodged it gracefully. Her body began crackling with electricity, which Ash recognized as Charge.

"Luxio, you don't need to do this!" Ash tried to stop the dog, who looked over at him. Pikachu saw this opportunity, then fired another bolt at her. Luxio jumped then turned, and fired a massive bolt that Pikachu couldn't dodge. The attack hit its mark, and Pikachu gripped the ground to bare the attack. It's tail flashed white, then Pikachu struck it into the ground. The attack went on, but Pikachu didn't seem to be damaged much. Pikachu was panting, so Ash picked it up and rushed it back to Brock. "Brock! Pikachu's hurt!" Ash handed the mouse to the man, who pulled out a blue berry and handed it to Pikachu.

"Alright, Pikachu. Eat the oran berry." Brock said. Pikachu nibbled on the berry, then ate the whole thing in a few bites. It sat up, and glared at Luxio.

"What's wrong, Pikachu?" Ash asked it.

"I think Pikachu feels threatened by Luxio, Ash." Brock told him.

"What? Why would he feel threatened?" Ash asked again.

"You may not remember, but Pikachu was your first pokemon. Now Pikachu sees Luxio as a strong electric-type in your team, which threatens its title as your best electric-type and best friend." Brock explained, clearing a few things in Ash's head. Pikachu began fighting verbally with Luxio, but she replied with calm answers. But they made Pikachu angry.

"Calm down, Pikachu. We don't need to fight." Ash stroked the mouse, calming it down a bit. Brock smiled, then walked away. Ash sat down with the two electric-types, Luxio beside him and Pikachu on his lap. "Luxio, Pikachu, you'll both always be strong electric-types in my team. But we don't have to fight who's stronger. I love you both. I don't even remember you, Pikachu. But I can tell from the way you act, and how Brock spoke, that we were really close in the past." Ash told the two.

"_pikachu pika, chu." (We were the closest.)_

"And Luxio, you're my pokemon now. We don't pick fights unless we're challenged or challenging." Ash told the dog.

_"Luxio lux lux, lux luxio." (But if Pikachu _was _your pokemon in the past, wouldn't you be challenging yourself? That would be a great challenge, wouldn't it?)_ Luxio smiled, but only Pikachu understood.

"_Pikachu chu, kachu pi chu." (That's right. It would be an amazing challenge, if you think about it.) _Pikachu smiled with Luxio, and Ash watched the two talk friendly.

"See? Can't we get along like this all the time?" Ash asked the two. The glanced at each other, then held out a paw, releasing small sparks from them as they touched each other. Ash smiled, then realized it was getting dark. Ash and the two electric-types went inside their tent and lied together, peacefully. The night came, and Brock, Max and May came back to the tents.

"Good night, guys. Take a good rest." the three trainers said as they returned all the pokemon into their pokeballs. Everyone lied down, and fell asleep. Except for one, that is.

"_What am I going to do?_ _I can't act like I'm happy all the time, or they'll get suspicious. I should step outside for a bit."_ May stood up and stepped outside of her sleeping bag. She tiptoed out, unaware that she woke someone else up.

"...May?" Ash whispered to himself as he watched the girl walk out into the forest. He stood up, and walked after her. He found her in a clearing, lying on her back and staring at the stars. Ash stepped on a twig, alerting her.

"Oh. It's you, Ash. What are you doing up?" she asked as she lied back down.

"Shouldn't I ask you that?" he smirked as he lied down beside her.

"...The stars are beautiful, aren't they?" may turned her head to look at him.

"They sure are. This world is full of beautiful mysteries, waiting to be uncovered." Ash replied, smiling at her. She rolled on her side and placed her chin on her hand, looking down at him.

"So how'd you and Dawn meet?" she asked, making the boy look up at her.

"...Well, it's a funny story, really..." Ash chuckled, then looked back at the sky.

"I want to hear it. Come on, Ash." she began circling her finger on his shoulder.

"Well, I was heading towards Twinleaf Town after I arrived in Sinnoh. I thought it sounded nice, and thought there was a pokemon center there. Along the way, I bumped into Dawn...er, she bumped into me. She was going down the hill on her bike really fast, and ran into me. I was apparently knocked out, and when I woke up, I was in Dawn's house. I met her and her mother, Johanna, and found out she would start her pokemon journey in a few days. They let me stay there for as long as I liked, and I figured I would travel with Dawn on her journey. When the day came, we left for Professor Rowan's lab, to pick up her pokemon. She picked Piplup, we left for Jubilife City." he explained to May.

"I see..." she said, thinking of something.

"Is that all you wanted?" he asked her.

"Yes. I'm done." she smiled, then saw him stand up. He extended an arm to her.

"Come on, let's go back to bed." he said as she pulled herself up with his hand.

"You're such a gentleman." she giggled, not letting go of his hand.

"Can't I be polite to friends?" he asked as they walked back to the tents. When they got there, May kissed him on the cheek again.

"Thank you for letting us travel together." she said, then crawled into the tent. He placed his hand on his cheek, then the world flashed around him. The world flashed again, and he found himself outside a building. It looked like a labratory. It flashed, again, then again, and May appeared beside him.

"Why don't we go _togetheeer?_ I happen to know the way there."

Ash looked around more to see two men, one appeared to be young with glasses, and the other slightly older with a beard-going. The world flashed again, and he was back in the forest.

"What...just happened...?" he asked himself, since the scene was only there for a few seconds. He crawled in the tent and lied down in his sleeping bag. "_I was just with May...and that place seemed familiar..."_ Ash thought to himself, before he drifted off to sleep.

**END**


	10. A Shocking Action

**A Shocking Action**

Ash opened his eyes, to see the sunlight peeking in through the tent. He yawned and stretched, then saw Pikachu curled up beside him. he stroked its fur, making the pokemon yawn and open its eyes.

"Sorry for waking you, Pikachu." Ash told the mouse, but it placed its paw on his hand and shook its head. It yawned again, then hopped on his shoulder. "I'll meet you outside. I gotta change." Ash told the mouse. Pikachu nodded, then walked out of the tent. Ash smiled, then changed into his normal clothes and stepped outside. He saw Brock stirring a spoon in a pot, and May combing her hair.

"Good morning." Ash greeted his friends.

"Good morning, Ash." May smiled at him.

"Morning, Ash. I'm making breakfast. So can you wake up Dawn and Max?" Brock pointed to the tent beside Ash.

"Okay." Ash said, then poked his head in the tent. He saw Max tossing and turning, and Dawn stroking her hair. Ash sighed, and shook the to bodies. "Wake up, you two. It's breakfast time." Ash whispered, making the two bodies yawn.

"Good morning, Ash." Max said, then yawned again as he rubbed his glasses with his shirt.

"Morning, Ash." Dawn kissed him on the cheek, then grabbed a brush. Ash got out of the tent, and walked beside Brock. he crouched down and looked into the pot.

"Wow, Brock! This smells great!" Ash smelled through his nose deeply.

"Well, you used to love it. I'm making your favourite stew." Brock smiled, making the boy happy.

"Yes! Stew!" Ash rubbed his stomach and laughed. He turned to see Max stepping out of the tent, dressed and yawning.

"Morning, everyone." he said. Everyone replied simply, then went back to their duties. Ash saw May struggling with her hair, and decided to help her.

"Here. I'm a natural with girl hair." Ash said s he took the comb from May.

"Yeah, that's a laugh." she said sarcastically. Ash arched his eyebrow as he stroked the brush through her brown silky hair. When he was done, he grabbed the mirror from beside her and handed it to her.

"Who''s laughing now?" Ash crossed his arms as May looked in the mirror. She didn't want to admit it…but he had done good. Not good, amazing. Not amazing, way better than her.

"Oh my gosh, Ash! It looks beautiful!" May gaped as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"Like I said, natural." Ash said, then walked into the trees. May smiled, then put her things in her pack and chased after him. When she found him, Pikachu and Luxio were staring each other down with Ash in the middle.

"Are they fighting again?" May put her hand on her hip.

"They're fighting. But by my command." Ash said. May was confused, but saw the two pokemon wave at her happily. They looked back and stared again.

"So…practice battle?" she said uncertainly.

"Yes. Now, Iron Tails!" Ash told them. They grinned, then jumped in the air as their tails flashed white. Pikachu flipped his body backwards and Luxio flipped forwards. The two tails clashed with Pikachu below and Luxio above. They grinned, then they stopped and landed safely.

"Amazing! They're evenly matched!" May said as she stood beside Ash.

"Check this out. Thunderbolt!" Ash told the electric-types, making them start to crackle with electricity. Two large bolts came from them and collided in the middle. The electricity crackled as both sides were not willing to back down. "Luxio, use Charge! And Pikachu, Volt Tackle!" Ash commanded again. Luxio jumped back and her body crackled with electricity. Pilach jumped back and started dashing for Luxio, its body surrounded by extensive amounts of electricity.

"This is gonna be good!" May became excited, but then saw a flash come from her bag. She watched as the red dimmed and Vulpix sat there, wagging its tails happily. "Vulpix! You can't come out whenever you want!" May told the fox, but didn't notice Pikachu chargin straight for her.

"Vulpix! Look out!" Ash called, realizing Vulpix would be seriously injured. Vulpix looked over at Pikachu, then ducked as she saw it charging for her. Luxio saw this, and landed in front of Vulpix. Her tail glowed white, then she struck it at the ground, sending bits of dirt up. Pikachu noticed them, and jumped, avoiding the clumps of dirt. He broke out of the electricity as he landed beside Luxio. She smiled at him, then he gave her a thumbs-up. "Good job, Luxio!" Ash called to the dog. She posed proudly, then looked at Vulpix.

"_Lux luxio, lux? (Are you alright?)_

_"Vulpix vul! (Of course!)_

"Thank you, Luxio." May said as she took Vulpix in her arms. "Now, don't come out whenever you want, okay?" Vulpix nodded happily, then rubbed her cheek against May's. Ash smiled, then they all head back for breakfast. When they were done, Ash cleared the plates and cleaned them in the tub. When he was finished, he saw May waiting for him.

"Waiting for me?" he asked her.

"Yes. I wanted to see if you'd like a battle." she said.

"Of course! Having a battle with a great coordinator would be amazing!" he smiled, making her smile. They headed to the clearing nearby, then they faced each other. "Well, ladies first." he took a small bow.

"Thank you, Ash. Let's win this, Combusken!" May tossed a pokeball and released her trusted partner pokemon.

"Okay, Luxio, show them what you're made of!" Ash tossed the pokeball and released the cloud of stars. They cleared and revealed the golden dog. "You may have the first move." Ash called across the field.

"You're going to regret it! Combusken, Fire Spin!" May commanded. Combusken fired a cyclone of flames towards Luxio.

"Luxio, dodge." Ash said calmly. Luxio quickly jumped into the air, dodging the flames easily. "Now, Charge!" Ash shouted. The electric dog began crackling with electricity.

"Combusken, sky uppercut!" May took advantage of the dog being defenceless in the air. Its claw glowed blue as it jumped towards Luxio.

"Iron tail!" Ash defended. Luxio's tail glowed blue and clashed with Combusken's claw.

"Perfect! Fire Spin!" May saw her chance.

"Paralyze it!" Ash called to the dog. Combusken formed flames in its mouth, but Luxio sent small sparks through its tail, into Combusken's claw and into its body. The flames disappeared as electricity coursed through its body. "Now, use thunderbolt!" Ash shouted. Luxio grinned, then released a large amount of electricity on the chicken pokemon at close range. It was sent flying down into the ground, struggling to get up.

"Combusken, fight back!" May called to her weakened pokemon.

"May, I think Combusken's done." Ash called to her.

"…Is he right?" she asked, her pokemon looked back, struggling to stand. May nodded, then returned her pokemon. Ash called Luxio back, then he walked beside her.

"That was great, May. I just think you shouldn't get overconfident if a close-up chance appears. Keep it cool, and it plays your way." Ash smiled to the girl.

"Thanks, Ash. I guess you're just too strong." May said. Ash laughed, then May kissed him on the cheek. She walked back to the camp, leaving the boy confused. he touched his cheek, then saw the world flicker. He saw the trees shift spots, then he saw himself and May appear. They were walking down the path, looking in opposite directions.

"_Why are we fighting?" _Ash thought in confusion.

_"Hey, you two lovebirds!"_

Ash watched everyone look to see a man and woman in their path.

"_Seeing as how you two are in love,we challenge you to a battle!"_

"_Us? In love?" _Ash watched himself and May take two steps away from each other. "_That's a laugh!" _he heard himself say.

"_Hardy hardy har!" _May fake laughed. Ash tilted his head in confusion, but then the world flickered and he was standing alone in the forest again.

"What…just happened….again?" Ash asked himself, thinking of what happened the past few seconds. He looked over to see May running towards him.

"Ash!" she called.

"What is it, May?" he asked her.

"Vulpix is gone! I turned my back for a second to fill her food bowl, then she was gone!" May began panicking.

"Ssh. We're going to find her." Ash put his hands on her shoulders, calming her down.

"…Okay." she whispered.

"Go! Swellow, Grovyle, Luxio!" Ash released the three pokemon. "I need you to look around for Vulpix." the pokemon nodded, then ran in separate directions. "Don't worry, May." Ash told her, then ran into the bushes.

"..Thank you, Ash…" she whispered as she held her hand to her chest.

"Vulpix? Vulpix! Come on out, Vulpix! We're worried about you!" Ash called out, but no response. Then he heard a whimper nearby. He ran through the bushes until he hit a clearing. "Vulpix!" he said happily as he saw the pokemon. But it didn't look to be in good condition. "Vulpix, are you okay?" Ash asked as he picked the fox up. The fox replied weakly, Ash became concerned with the marks on its body. "We've got to get you to Brock!" Ash turned around, but felt a strong gust of wind push him to the ground. He looked up to see an angry group of bees. "What are those? Good thing that Nurse Joy used to be a technician upgrader." Ash said he pulled his pokedex out.

_Combee. The Tiny bee pokemon._

_It collects and delivers honey to its colony. At night, they cluster to form a beehive and sleep._

"Combee, eh? Okay!" Ash smirked, but the combee flapped their little wings and blew Ash into a tree. He got up with Vulpix, then saw a small flam behind the Combee. It was just outside a cave. "Vulpix, did you attack their hive?" Ash asked the fox. It lifted its head, but dropped quickly. Ash was getting worried, then tried to run to camp, but was blown from beneath his feet. "Leave us alone! We're sorry!" Ash shouted at the angry hive, but they didn't listen. A few flew towards Ash quickly, slamming into his leg. he groaned, then jumped and dodged the others. Ash didn't see the last one coming, and it was going straight for Vulpix. he quickly turned around, preparing for the impact on his back, protecting Vulpix. he turned around to see the combee on the ground with sparks coming from its body. He saw two figures jump from the bush, revealing to be Luxio and Pikachu. They were in a defensive stance, sparkling with electricity.

"Luxio! Pikachu!" Ash was glad to see his friends helping him. "Thunderbolt both of you!" Ash commanded. Pikachu jumped on Luxio's back, then released strong electric attack. Luxio bared its claw into the ground for support, then used the energy plus her own to fire a mega-volt attack towards the group of bees. It struck them, knocking them all to the ground. "Yes! You did it!" Ash called in victory. He was going to step forward and congratulate the two, but Ash stopped when he saw purple needles strike the ground in front of him. He looked up to see a larger bee, looking angry.

_Vespiquen. The beehive pokemon._

_It released various pheromones to make the grubs in its body do its bidding while fighting foes._

"Vespiquen? Okay! Luxio, Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded. Luxio fired a bolt of electricity towards the large bug, but it made a shrill whistling noise. Little bugs flew from its abdomen and created a wall in front of it, receiving the attack. "What! Okay, iron tail!" Ash commanded again. Luxio's tail glowed white and it charged towards the wall, crashing through it. But Vespiquen was gone. It looked around for the overgrown bug, but it was too late. It flew out from a tree and slashed multiple times at the dog with white claws. Luxio jumped back, panting from the surprise attack.

"Luxio, take a rest. Pikachu, Quick attack to confuse it!" Pikachu dashed at lightning speed towards the bug, then raced around the side. Vespiquen looked towards it, but it disappeared around the other side again. Soon, Vespiquen was enraged, but didn't see Pikachu in the air behind it. "Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted. Pikachu released a powerful electric blast at the bug, seeding it into the tree and sparking. Vespiquen tried to get up, but sparks came off its body. "Perfect! Double thunderbolt!" Ash commanded. Both electric-types stood beside each other, and fired the two bolts of electricity towards the bug. They both came in contact, making the vespiquen screech in pain. When the attack stopped, Vespiquen flew up quickly.

"But…how!" Ash was at a loss of words. Vespiquen's claws glowed white, then it charged towards Luxio. "Dodge! Pikachu, use iron tail!" Ash told them. Luxio jumped in the air, and Pikachu struck the claws with a white tail. Vespiquen knocked the attack back, then clawed at the small mouse furiously and violently. "Pikachu! Luxio, iron tail with electricity!" Ash shouted tot he dog in the air. Luxio's tail glowed white as she flipped forwards, sending the white tail coursing withal electrify straight at the bug's head. It came in contact, exploding on impact. Luxio landed beside Pikachu, who was struggling to get up. Luxio put her tail against Pikachu's and released small sparks. Pikachu smiled, then they faced the bug again.

"Pikachu, get on Luxio! Luxio, use Charge!" Ash told them. Pikachu jumped on Luxio's back, then Luxio began crackling with electricity. The sparks went through Pikachu, too, giving it an energy boost. "Alright! Pikachu, use Volt Tackle! And Luxio, use a full power thunderbolt!" Ash shouted. Pikachu hopped off and dashed for the bug, covering itself in crackling electricity. Luxio fired a large bolt at Pikachu, which seemed to be absorbed by volt tackle. Pikachu ran with the large and extensive amount of electricity around it, charing into Vespiquen. The explosion poured smoke over the clearing, blinding everyone. The smoke cleared over Ash, then he saw Luxio and Pikachu standing healthy. "Guys!" he was happy to see the two okay.

Then Vespiquen charged through the smoke with long, glowing green claws. She slashed them across Pikachu, sending it into a tree. Luxio looked back to see the large green claws slash at her, sending her beside Pikachu. "Luxio! Pikachu!" Ash called with concerned tone. He looked at the bug. "I'm the one you want! I damaged you hive!" Ash set Vulpix down beside Pikachu.

"_Pika-pi, pikachu pi!" (Ash, that's suicide!)_

_"Luxio lux lux! Lux luxio!" (Pikachu's right! You'll never survive!)_

Ash ignored the pokemon calling to him. "Come and get me! I'm the one you're angry at! They're not involved in this!" Ash shouted at the bug. he looked back to the three weakened pokemon. "Guys, get Vulpix and yourselves back to camp. Don't worry about me." he said, then faced the bug again. She charged with the green claws, which Ash ducked and dodged. Vespiquen was really angry at this, then slashed more violently. Ash couldn't dodge this speed, and was sent into a tree. "Is that all you got!" he shouted angrily, infuriating the bug. She fired an array of purple needles, which jabbed into Ash's side. He groaned in pain as the poison slowly seeped into him. He began to feel dizzy. "You're…weak…you…coward..bug…" Ash panted as his eyelids felt heavy. He saw Vespiquen buzz its wings angrily, then one claw glowed white and the other extended into a green blade. She clashed them together, and the white power fused into the green blade, making it a sharp and white blade. Ash watched as she made both arms long, white and sharp blades, knowing she would show no mercy. She crossed her blades over her head, and buzzed loudly.

"_LUXIO!" (ASH!)_

_"PIKA-PI!" (ASH!)_

Ash felt his heart reduce to a slow beat. He watched the bug lower its fearsome claws, then felt the large explosion at close-range. When the smoke cleared, Ash felt the same. he looked to see Luxio staring at him with widened eyes. He looked to see Vespiquen hovering over him, looking angry. But below her…was Pikachu. He was on his back. Not moving, with a large red X on his chest.

**END**

**Pikachu! Oh wait, what am I concerned about? I know what's going to happen to him. Don't be alarmed, he will not die. Don't think that. I don't think I can write a fic without mentioning Pikachu. **

**_What do you think will happen?_**

** Will Pikachu see the others again? **

**What will this experience do to Luxio? **

**Will Ash _ever_ get his memory back? **

**All will be answered in the next chapter!******** R&R! **


	11. Back In Mind

**Back In A Mind**

(Ash's POV)

When I saw Pikachu on the ground, my heart began racing. I felt an anger I didn't think existed. And suddenly, as if the gods heard my confusion, begging for answers, images flooded my mind. Millions of pictures flew through my head, my eyes. Various scenes...of me and Pikachu.

_Me and Pikachu on the ground, a flock of spearow flying away._

_Me sleeping on a bed, with an injured-looking Pikachu in my arms._

_Me and Pikachu standing across from Brock in a gym._

_Me and Pikachu standing across from Misty in a pool area._

_Me holding Pikachu in my arms, losing to a Kadabra._

_Me smiling with Pikachu on my shoulder._

Millions more flooded through, but those stuck out most. I clenched my fist, feeling something...love. I loved this creature, as my pokemon. They were right.

I was friends with Brock, I was friends with a girl named Misty. I loved Pikachu, I owned Pikachu, he was my best friend, we had fun. I tried to crawl to Pikachu, but purple needles hit the ground in front of me. I looked up and saw the vespiquen, still angry. I looked over to Luxio and Vulpix, and saw a horrified expression on Luxio's face as she stare at Pikachu. Vulpix, however, decided to take a nap.

I slowly rose to my feet, somehow summoning the strength. I felt the poison in my body, taking its toll on my body. I took a step. Another. Then stumbled, beside Pikachu. I moved my hand beside his face, then noticed his eyelids flicker. I saw his eyes slowly open, then he smiled as he saw me.

"Buddy...you're okay..." I slowly took him in my arms and gently rubbed his head. I looked at his wound, seeing it was pretty serious. He needed a doctor. I looked up at vespiquen. "Vespiquen! You have to let me take him to a pokemon center! He's in serious trouble if you don't!" I shouted, but the pokemon shook its head. Its claws glowed white and it extended its arms. "No! It can't battle now! It needs a doctor!" I yelled, but the pokemon waved its claw. I heard Luxio yell angrily at it, but it buzzed loudly and hovered at Luxio with the white claws. I couldn't believe this bug.

"NO!" I shouted angrily, then it stopped. It looked over to me. "We don't want to battle! We can't right now! We need help!" I shouted at it, letting my emotions get the best of me. It lowered its head, then held out its arm, forming the green blade from earlier. "Not now! Don't you get it? We're tired and need rest!" I yelled again. The pokemon hovered to the ground, then held out its arms to Pikachu. I looked into its eyes, but didn't see the anger from earlier. I reached formy belt and grabbed a pokeball. I opened it, and my crab pokemon popped out. "Corphish, bubblebeam!" I pointed to the burning hive entrance. It nodded, then fired an array of bubbles and quickly distinguished the fire. I smiled to vespiquen, and it tilted its head. "It's a hard world, vespiquen. We can't asume someone did something for a reason without hearing their side of the story." I told the bug. It nodded, thenlooked back at Pikachu. I smiled. I brought out the good in vespiquen. I'm proud. "All right, Vespiquen, let's get Pikachu gently to the pokemon center." I said, then picked up my old friend. I nodded to vespiquen, then a flame blasted it backwards into a tree. I gasped, then looked back to see May. Her Combusken looked ready.

"Ash! Are you okay?" she asked, looking at Pikachu in my arms. She gasped, then saw Luxio and Vulpix. She gasped as she saw the wounds on the sleeping fox. "Vulpix! Did that bug do this to you!" she pointed angrily at vespiquen, not realizing she just woke her up. Vespiquen buzzed angrily, then I raised my hand in front of her as her claw glowed white.

"Vespiquen, it's okay." I said calmly, but it still had confusion in its eyes. "Remember what I said about their side of the story? She just saw the wounds and knew my pokemon wouldn't injure her pokemon. She can be misjudging sometimes." I smiled, calming the bug down. It looked back at May, giving a small glare. I sighed, then my vision began to get blurry. I stumbled over, gently landing on my knees and placing Pikachu on the ground. I felt so dizzy, the poison must be taking an effect. I saw May run over to me.

"Ash...are you okay..." I felt my hearing begin to fade. Her voice was a whisper. I pointed to Pikachu, then collapsed.

(May's POV)

"Ash! Ash, wake up! Come on!" I shook his body, trying to wake him up. He didn't move. I looked over to Pikachu and noticed the red mark. I gasped. Pikachu was seriously injured! I've never seen anything like this! I looked over to the bug. WHat had Ash called it? Vespiquen? "Vespiquen...that's your name, isn't it?" the bug nodded. "Why did you do this?" it began making buzzing noises, as if talking. It pointed over to a bush, where it was slightly black. "...Vulpix. Did she accidentally disturb your hive?" the bug nodded. "So you were blinded by rage, and Pikachu defended her?" it nodded again. I understood. "Okay, we gotta get these guys to a pokemon center!" I said to vespiquen. We nodded to each other, then I grabbed Ash's pokeballs and recalled Corphish. Then I recalled Luxio, with difficulty getting it away from Ash. Finally, I put Vulpix back in her pokeball. I lifted Ash with Combusken's help, and Vespiquen grabbed Pikachu. It hovered in the air, then pointed into the trees. I ran in that direction, and soon we came across a small building. A hospital. What are the odds? We ran inside, and got Pikachu into a room. Then the doctor took Ash into another room as I handed Luxio's pokeball to a Nurse Joy assistant. I joined the doctor in Ash's room as he hooked some cords into his arms. I heard the machine beeping, then the doctor held Ash's wrists.

"Seems a massive amount of poison has entered his body. But luckily, you were able to get him here before it reached his bloodstream. We can remove it within the hour. I suggest you go help take care of that pikachu with my assistant." the doctor told me. I sighed, happy he was going to be okay. I stepped out and walked down the hall, then noticed I was alone. I had recalled Combusken...but where was vespiquen? I stepped outside then noticed her outside a window.

"What's wrong?" I asked, then saw inside the window. Pikachu was on the bed, while Nurse Joy put some patches on Pikachu's cheeks. I saw the patches connect to wires, which connected to batteries. "You feel guilty, don't you?" I asked it. It lowered its head. "It's going to be okay. You were blinded, it's not your fault." I rubbed the bug's shoulder, then it smiled weakly to me. A little later, Max, Brock, Dawn and I were in Ash's room. I watched his body, motionless. ''_Ash..."_

(Ash's POV)

I slowly opened my eyes. I first saw blue hair, then realized it was Dawn. I rubbed her back, then she looked at me with teary eyes. "Ash!" she squealed as she hugged me again. Then she pulled away and kissed me on my lips. But, there was something different. It didn't quite feel the same. When she pulled back, she gave me her smile. I smiled back, but wasn't completely honest. I was confused. I looked over to see Max and Brock smiling, then finally...May. I wasn't sure how she felt. Her eyes had tears, so she was obviously sad. She had her hand held to her chest, looking at her legs.

"May..." I stopped when I saw her look up, then she smiled. I smiled as she took me into a hug. But, suddenly, I realized something, This felt like a hug with Dawn. What was going on? I looked around, looking for my pokemon. I noticed no one but us five.

"Don't worry, Ash. Your pokemon are safe. Luxio's getting better, and Pikachu is getting recharged. You may still not remember, but-" I hopped off the bed, stopping his talking. I stepped to the door, then stumbed out. I saw the others follow me down the hall as I stumble down the hallway.

"Ash, you need to rest. They're in good hands." Max told me, but I didn't believe him. Pikachu was my best friend, at least in the past. But now, I remembered it clearly. We loved, cared, battled, and ate together. I heard a noise, then saw a bright light illuminate around te corner. I looked over to see Luxio stumbling into the wall as she tried down the hall, with a few sparking bodies on the floor. I rubbed her head, the she looked up at me. She smiled, then we looked for Pikachu's room. Soon, we stumbled into the room with my best buddy. I saw the nurse with a frown, then she noticed us on the floor.

"What on earth...? here." she helped me up and on a chair. "Is this Pikachu yours?" I nodded. "I'm afraid...he might not make it, but there's a slim chance." I looked over to my buddy, then heard my friends come through the door.

"Ash! Don't run away like that!" Max said, then everyone saw the nurse's face. They looked at me, to confirm the truth from her face. I wore a small smile, small.

"As I as saying, there is a slim chance for your pikachu." she repeated. Suddenly, Brock got down on one knee.

"Nurse Joy! Pikachu's condition has suddenly sparked-" he jumped up again. "Later! How can we help Pikachu?" he asked, making Max and May gasp.

"Well, your pokemon has consumed the full recharge of these batteries, but it's still short on power. These are our most powerful!" she said as she held out the batteries.

"What can we do?" I began panicking. I couldn't control myself and began pacing around the room, nervous. "What to do...what to do...what to do..." I said repeatedly.

"Ash! Calm down!" I felt May put her ands on my shoulders and stop me.

"How can I? I've had a crazy day! There's my conversations with you! There's vespiquen! There's Luxio! There's this! There's the memories about Pikachu!" I shouted, then apologized to the nurse after she hushed me.

"Memories?" Max asked.

"About Pikachu?" Brock continued.

"Yes. A flock of spearow, a kadabra, us sleeping together peacefully, that kind of stuff! There was millions more, though!" I told them.

"Ash! Calm down!" May began shaking me back and forth. I felt something fall out of my pocket, then noticed something fall from May's pocket. The two objects fell to the ground but I wasn't looking. I saw May's surprised expression as she looked to the ground, then I looked down. I saw a ribbon. The two halves fit perfectly. Suddenly, my head throbbed. Suddenly, my mind began flooding with images again.

_Me walking a little faster than May on the road._

_Me having my arms tugged by Max and May to each side._

_Me swinging on a vine, landing in front of May._

_Me holding May's hand, running through a forest._

_Me and May telling a lady and man we didn't love each other._

_Me fighting with May._

_Me looking over a ship's side, seeing Max and Brock running._

_Me and May yelling over the side of the ship._

I grabbed my head as the pain grew, more images flooding in. I felt dizzy, then fell to the ground. "Ash!" I heard Dawn's voice ring quietly. My hearing faded again. I saw everyone look worriedly at me, then I saw Luxio lie beside me. She began to lick my face, our faces close together. Then my eyelids began to close. The last thing I saw... was a bright light.

**END**

**Dun dun dun! This was fun, I have to admit. I'm sad to say, though, this fic is nearing the end (*sobbing*).**

**Ash's friend connections? Develop? Disolve?**

**What was the light?**

**What happens to Pikachu?**

**The end is near! Stay tuned for few more updates! R&R!**


	12. Plenty of Love

**Plenty of Love  
**

Ash slowly opened his eyes, looking around the familiar hospital room he was in earlier. His head still hurt a little, but he ignored it as he noticed his friends weren't to be seen. He figured they were waiting in another room, so he shifted his body on the bed. But something held him down. He looked down and saw red, with brown underneath. He smiled as he recognized May's head, then stroked her hair. The images of them together flashed in his mind again, but this time he knew. They were best friends.

"Ash..." he was confused to hear her voice mumbling in her sleep. "..Please be okay..." her hand landed on his chest, then she clutched his shirt.

"It's okay, May. I'm better now." he whispered, but her head shifted.

"Ash...if you leave...I won't forgive myself...for not telling you..." she continued sleepily.

"What do you mean, May? You shouldn't blame yourself." he whispered, confused at her words.

"...Ash...I need to tell you..." her grip got tighter on his shirt as he prepared for her words. "...Ash...I love..you..." she said quietly, then shifted again. Ash cringed. She loved him? He understood their friendship from his images and now...but _love_? He loved Dawn. But as if she read his thoughts, she spoke again. "Ash...I know you're with Dawn...but I just wanted you to know...just in case..." she trailed off as a tear rolled down her cheek. Ash felt bad about this. She loved him, but he loved Dawn. ...Or did he? The past few days, he had plenty of special moments with May. They didn't quite feel like Dawn, but they actually felt a little...better.

"It's okay, May." Ash whispered, then he saw Brock and Max appear in the doorway.

"Ash, good to see you feeling better." Brock said with a smile.

"Same here, Ash. Glad to have you back." Max said as he stood beside the bed.

"Thanks, guys. It's nice to know I remember you now." Ash chuckled in response. Suddenly, May's head shot up. She yawned as she looked over at Max.

"Max? I-It's not what it looks like! This is a f-friendly moment!" May began to stutter at her sibling.

"May, I know you wouldn't take advantage of a guy while he's sleeping. Especially Ash." Max crossed his arms as he spoke.

"I know, too...but..." May pushed her index fingers together.

"May, you might not want to say anything to personal." Brock said in a wise voice.

"Why?" she tilted her head.

"Do you need a reason, May?" Ash asked. She spun around quickly at her voice and turned deep red.

"A-A-A-Ash!" she said panickely, then quickly hugged him tightly. He was taken back in surprise, then he gently returned the hug. "...I'm so glad..." she whispered in his ear. He rubbed her back reasuringly, then he looked at Brock.

"We'll be back later, Ash. Rest easy." Brock turned around and left the room. Max stepped towards the door.

"See you, Ash. Keep it to a minimum." Max smirked as he passed out the doorway. Ash couldn't notice, but May grew a deeper shade of red. After it faded, she parted from him and smiled.

"Ash..." she trailed off.

"May, do you know you sleep-talk?" he smiled to her. Her eyes suddenly went wide and she became a deeper red than her bandana.

"I slept-talked? So you...h-h-h-heard?" she asked in a very panicky tone. Ash simply nodded, then she focused her gaze on a ground tile. "I understand if you hate me. I'll leave you alone now." she tried to stand, but something grabbed her hand. She looked down to see a fingerless glove on her hand. She followed the arm to see Ash's smiling face.

"I didn't answer yet." he said.

"A-Answer?" she tugged at her collar nervously. He took her hand in his and rubbed his thumb on hers.

"May, I remember now we used to be friends." her lips curled into a smile. "And I remember I wasn't very clear on the field of love. "she began laughing quietly. "But now...from what you said...it's surprising...that have an answer." he finished his little speech.

"I understand. I just wanted it off my chest." she said as she looked at the ground again.

"...But I say yes." he said. She looked back at him.

"...W-W-What? You...you feel the...s-same?" she stuttered.

"...Yes." he replied. A figure frowned and stepped down the hallway. He was sure he loved her. She's nice, caring, sweet, beautiful, smart, and talented. What was wrong with the picture of them together?

"But...what about Dawn?" she asked the inevitable question. Ash frowned as he realized someone would get emotionally crushed either way. But he heard footsteps. Not human, but rapid and heavy. Soon, a large figure slid in the doorway and sat beside Ash's bed.

_"Luxray!"_

Ash looked at the large dog beside him, then realized. The dog placed its paw on the bed and winked.

"...Luxio?" the dog nodded. Ash stared, then smiled. "Luxio, you evolved!" he started rubbing her head.

"She evolved right after you passed out." May told him, then started the story...

Flashback

_Ash's eyes closed. Dawn gasped quietly, but then Luxio grabbed everyone's attention. She began glowing. Her body was enveloped in white light, then her body grew larger. When the light ceased, a larger and slightly different-looking dog stood where she stood._

_"Luxray!" Max exclaimed. Luxray nodded, then electricity became visible over its body as it covered its body. Luxray turned and stepped beside Pikachu's bed, then placed her tail on the battery. She closed her eyes and released a strong charge into the battery. The electricity travelled through the battery and down the wires, into Pikachu's cheeks. His body glowed yellow as the electricity flowed into him. His cheeks released one small bolt of electricity, ceasing the charges. Slowly, his eyes began to open, seeing Luxray smiling down on him._

_"..Chu-Pi...pikachu pi chu pika?" (Luxio...did you help me?)_

_"Lux, luxray ray lux ray." (Of course, Pikachu, and it's Luxray now.) she winked at him as she put her paw on the bed. Pikachu smiled as he weakly placed his paw on Luxray's. They smiled at each other, then looked at the humans._

_"All right, let's help him now." Nurse Joy said as she pointed to Ash's motionless body. Brock carefully carried him and set him down in his bed. After about ten minutes in the waiting room, the nurse came out of his room. "He'll be fine. Just a few hours of rest." everyone sighed at the good news. In Pikachu's room, Luxray and Pikachu smiled as they had their paws together._

End Flashback

"Wow..." Ash said as the story finished.

"Yeah..." May said quietly, then reached in her pocket. she pulled out something and stared at it in her hand.

"What's that?" Ash pointed to her hand. She slowly opened her hand to reveal the two halves of the Terricota Ribbon.

"It's our Terricota Ribbon. We won it together back in Kanto...just before you left..." she said as her face turned pink. Ash stared at it, remembering it was the cause of his pain before fainting. But it didn't hurt now.

"So...about the love thing..." Ash started, but May stopped him.

"Ash...We both know you can't love Dawn and me at the same time." May told him.

"I know...but..." Ash stopped when Brock stepped in the room, panting. "What's wrong, Brock?" Ash asked.

"Dawn's gone!"

**END**

**Oh no! Now most of you are probably thinking this is a good cliffhanger moment (and I agree), but since I want this fanfic done, I'm going to update the next chap. I'm sorry to cliffhanger fans, but like I said earlier, I want this done. Stay seated for the ending next chapter!**


	13. How do I put This

**How Do I Put This...**

"What!" Ash was surprised to hear the words from his friend's mouth.

"I'm serious, Dawn's not in the hospital! Max and I checked all over!" Brock exclaimed again.

"Why would she not be here? Family matter?" May looked at Ash as she listed possible reasons. Suddenly, Ash knew. Of course! How could he be so stupid?

"Alright, Brock, you and Max look around inside some more. May and I will take outside." Ash nodded to May, who smiled back.

"Okay!" she beamed determined. Ash smiled weakly, then jumped out of the bed and raced to the exit. They burst through the door and started looking around.

"Any sign of her?" Ash asked.

"No sign of blue anywhere...wait! I have an idea!" May suddenly ran around the side of the building. Ash followed her, then found her looking around.

"You think she's over here?" Ash asked as he looked down the hill into the thick trees.

"No, but I think I know someone who might have seen her." May replied. Ash watched as the girl searched for something, then her head shot up. She looked at Ash, then above them. Ash looked up to see a honeycomb.

"Vespiquen!" Ash said as he recognized the bug-type. Vespiquen buzzed happily and smiled as it saw Ash healthy. It gave him a hug. "Vespiquen, we need you help." Ash said as she puled away. "Have you seen a blue-haired girl nearby? Blue hair?" Ash pulled a bit of his hair to show the bug. Vespiquen thought for a moment, then nodded and pointed down the hill. Ash and May followed the bug quickly towards their friend. Soon, they came into a clearing as they pushed through the bushes. They looked around, then Vespiquen pointed further in the trees.

"She's even farther in?" May asked as she panted from running. Vespiquen nodded.

"May, stay here. I'll try this alone first." Ash nodded to Vespiquen, then she guided him into the trees again. Soon, a quiet sobbing noise was heard. Ash frowned as he recognized the blunette's cry. Vespiquen pointed at a tree, which Ash could make out a small patch of blue inside. Ash nodded to Vespiquen, then walked and stopped below the tree. He saw Vespiquen fly back towards May. "...Dawn?" Ash asked out loud.

"What do you want, Ash?" the feminine voice replied.

"I want to talk, Dawn. About earlier." Ash told her. A few moments went by, then her head poked out of the leaves.

"Fine. You have a few minutes, then I want to be alone." she told him. He smiled as she climbed down carefully the other side of the tree. She stepped beside him and looked in his eyes. "What do you want to say?" she asked him.

"Look, Dawn...I know you heard me and May talking." Dawn frowned as she nodded. "...But I want to explain something." Dawn's expression changed to confusion.

"What is it?" she asked. Ash hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath.

"Dawn...I didn't mean it that way." Ash said, then Dawn raised her hand to stop him.

"I can tell when you lie, Ash. Besides, she's more talented than I am, prettier, she gives you kisses more often than me," Ash's eyes widened. "Yes, Ash, I know about those." Dawn told him.

"...Dawn...if you're saying those things about her...you're doubting yourself again." her second hand found her hip as he spoke. "Dawn, you know I don't like it when you doubt yourself." he cupped his hand on her cheek, rubbing it gently with his thumb.

"That's true...but it's what I do, Ash. Besides, she doesn't doubt herself and that's probably why you like her more." Dawn pointed out, but Ash shook his head.

"Dawn, that's not true. I love you, and only you that way." Ash said, but Dawn raised an eyebrow at him.

"That way?" she tilted her head.

"...Yes. Real love, Dawn. The only reason I said that to her is because..." he trailed off as he stared directly into her eyes. He took a breath, then continued. "...It was what my brain wanted." Dawn sighed and turned her head, but Ash brought her gaze back to him. "Listen, Dawn. They were right when they said we travelled together before, turns out I did travel with them...my memory of my old friends somehow disappeared. I now know what it was like just before I left...I did have a crush on May...but I thought she didn't feel the same. Since I thought she liked a jerk named Drew... I left them for Sinnoh. I still loved May...but knew I couldn't co-operate with her...it would never work out..." a tear rolled down Dawn's cheek as she heard his past. "...Then...I met you...and everything changed...I remember seeing something speeding down a hill towards me...then everything went black...and I met you and your mother, then our journey started." Ash took shalow breaths as he saw the expression on Dawn's face. It wasn't mad. It was sad. It was guilty.

"Oh, Ash..." she wrapped her arms around his neck, he responded with his arms around her hips.

"Dawn...you're the only girl for me. No need to worry about that." he whispered into her ear. He heard a few sobs, but they stopped when she pulled away.

"...Do you... do you mean that?" she asked nervously.

"...Yes." Ash replied with a smile, then she smiled too.

"...Thank you...Ash..." she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss. He wrapped his arms around her hips again, embracing the romantic moment. When they parted, they both agreed to returning to the group.

"_...Man, how am I going to tell May..."_ Ash thought sadly as he stepped ou of the trees. He looked up and saw Vespiquen and May waiting by the entrance. Vespiquen looked down at them, then pointed at them. May looked over, then started running down towards them happily.

"Thank goodness you're back, Dawn!" May said happily as she reached them. Ash felt a slight pain in his chest.

"Of course I'm fine, May. No need to worry, right, Ash?" Dawn looked towards him.

"...Of course." he replied, trying to manage a smile. Dawn immediately recognized it as fake, but kepy quiet when she saw May buying it.

"Okay! Let's tell Brock and Max!" she said happily, then started up the hill. Dawn followed, but Ash stayed. He stared at the trees, then looked at Vespiquen beside him. Vespiquen nodded slowly.

"...You have to stay, don't you?" Ash asked sadly, Vespiquen nodded. "...Your hive can't work the same without you...Vespiquen..." Ash spoke slowly. Vespiquen brought him into a hug, then slowly hovered towards the trees. "Goodbye, Vespiquen! I'll come back and visit!" Ash called out. Vespiquen looked back and nodded with a smile, then waved before disappearing into the bushes. Ash smiled as a small breeze blew through the area.

"Ash! You coming?"

Ash looked up to see his four friends waiting on him. "...Yes, I just want to take care of something." Ash said as he walked past them into the hospital.

"Don't forget to pick up Luxray and Pikachu! We didn't want to disturb them!" they called to him before the doors closed. Ash frowned as he walked down the hallway, then he stepped into Pikachu's room. He saw Pikachu sleeping peacefully on his bed, with Luxray's head beside him. Apparently, somehow, she got some sort of a large stool and sat on it beside the bed. Her head and Pkachu's were leaning against each other, with their paws connected below.

"...Pikachu..." Ash whispered with a smile, then noticed a gleam under the bed. Luxray's eyelids slowly opened, then she saw her trainer. She smiled happily. "Hey, Luxray. We gotta get moving now." Luxray frowned, then gently nudged Pikachu's cheek. His eyelids opened and focused on Luxray. He smiled and rubbed his cheek back against hers, then noticed his trainer. Pikachu quickly snapped up, a tinge of pink on his cheeks. "It's okay, Pikachu. You don't have to be embarrased." Ash told him. Pikachu nodded, then looked at their connected paws. Luxray drew back her paw and smiled, then Pikachu got up and stretched.

Ash returned Luxray to her pokeball, then bent over to see the shiny object beneath the bed. He reached out and grabed it, then pulled it out to see. He saw a half-piece of ribbon, then he recognized it. The Terricota Ribbon. The one he and May tied and won together. He held the ribbon to his heart, then noticed a piece of white paper attatched to the back.

_Ash,_

_I knew you'd spot this beneath the bed. It was our ribbon, and I always hold it to my heart before I fall asleep and wake up. I heard you and Dawn talking in the forest, I forgive you. I always had a feeling something would hold us back. From what I know from our journey and your mother, that happens to you a lot, doesn't it? I understand you love Dawn, but always know I love you. Even you knowing it makes me feel better. I love you, Ash._

Ash smiled as he finished, then put them in his pocket, let Pikachu on his shoulder, and left the building. The others saw him stepping out the door. "You clear it up?" Brock asked.

"...Yeah, it's fine." Ash replied with a small smile. Brock, Max, Dawn and May started down the path towards Eterna. Ash started, then saw May's head turn around. She looked at him, then opened her palm and winked with a gentle smile. Ash looked in her hand and saw the half-Terricota Ribbon. Ash smiled and showed his half, then she winked again and looked ahead of her. Ash hurried his step and paced beside Dawn. She wiggled her arm under his and wrapped them together. Ash and Dawn smiled at each other, then walked happily with their friends.

**END**

**A few things to say. One; I changed my mind from advanceshipping to pearlshipping, please don't complain. **

**Two; I know the ending may be a bit rushed, but please bear with me. We all honestly have that thought of me not being very good at these.**

**Three; I hope you enjoyed this fic, it took a while but it`s finally over. Sad, yes, but I don`t like pro-longued stories.**

**Four; (*important*) HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! (tomorrow) **


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